BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between hearing impairment and alcohol drinking patterns in South Korean adults. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Data collection was performed by Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey from January 1 to December 31, 2012. Data analyses were performed from February 20 to March 3, 2018. Data from 3,860 adults 20 years of age or older without a history of malignancy or chronic otitis media in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012 database who participated in the health questionnaires, and who had available results from otologic examinations that included pure tone audiogram, were included. Pure-tone average hearing thresholds were calculated at 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz. Hearing loss was defined as a pure-tone average >40 dB in one or both ears. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test was used to evaluate drinking statuses of subjects. Data were analyzed using the complex-sample χ²-test of independence and a complex-sample logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 29,954,319 individuals in the weighted cross-sectional study population, 15,106,040 (50.4%) were men and 14,848,098 (49.6%) were women. A total of 8.1% of men and 7% of women had hearing impairment. The degrees of drinking with appropriate, risky, and hazardous drinking habits were 58.2, 32.1, and 9.7% among men; and 76.4, 12.5, and 11.1% among women, respectively. Among men, the odds ratio of hearing loss increased by 2.506 times when comparing hazardous and appropriate drinking (confidence interval, 1.083 to 5.800, p=0.002). Moderate alcohol consumption (≤2 drinks per day) was not protective for hearing in either group. CONCLUSIONS: As hazardous drinking tends to coexist with hearing impairment in men, appropriate prevention and intervention strategies should be emphasized. A longitudinal study to investigate harmful drinking and the mechanism of hearing loss should be performed.
Adult ; Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholism ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Data Collection ; Deafness ; Drinking ; Ear ; Female ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Longitudinal Studies ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Odds Ratio ; Otitis Media ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Statistics as Topic

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to compare receptive and expressive language development in children who have undergone simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation (SCI) and those who have undergone bimodal stimulation (unilateral CI+ hearing aid). SUBJECTS AND METHOD: In a retrospective analysis of clinical data, 15 pediatric patients who have received SCI and nine patients who have received bimodal stimulation (BM group) were enrolled. CI was performed for all patients at 24 months of age. Category of Auditory Performance (CAP) scores, Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS) scores, and developmental quotients (DQ) for expressive and receptive language were compared between the groups at 12 month of follow-up. The Percentage of Consonants Correct (PCC) of children evaluated at 4 years old was also compared. RESULTS: At 12 months of follow-up, significantly greater improvements in CAP scores (Δ4.25±0.5) were noted in the SCI group compared to the BM group (Δ3.56±0.88, p=0.041). Significantly greater improvements in IT-MAIS scores were also noted in the SCI group (Δ36.17±4.09) than in the BM group (Δ30.17±2.91, p=0.004). The DQ of receptive language was higher in the SCI group than in the BM group (87.6±15.4% vs. 75.5±12.0%, p=0.023) at 12 months of follow-up. Moreover, early SCI was associated with better receptive language skills. PCC index of children at 4 years old was higher in the SCI group than in the BM group (88.5±13.2% vs. 62±15.8%, p=0.014). Earlier SCI was associated with even greater improvements. CONCLUSION: Bilateral SCI is associated with significant improvements in language development when compared with bimodal stimulation. Earlier SCI was associated with better outcomes.
Child ; Cochlear Implantation ; Cochlear Implants ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hearing ; Humans ; Language Development ; Linguistics* ; Methods ; Retrospective Studies

Despite significant progress in audiology, there is no definitive treatment option for Ménière disease due to its multifactorial etiology.Current Concepts: The primary treatment goal for Ménière disease is first, to decrease the frequency of symptoms and, second, to minimize the severity of vertigo and hearing loss. Concurrently, the preservation of vestibular and auditory functions should be prioritized. The protection of vestibular and auditory functions should also be considered. Treatment options for Ménière disease include lifestyle modifications, medical treatment, and surgical intervention. Recent treatment algorithms aim to gradually escalate the invasiveness of the treatment to assist in developing a more uniform treatment approach.Nanomaterials, including nanoparticles and nanocarriers, offer an array of novel diagnostic and therapeutic applications for achieving effective drug delivery into the inner ear of patients with Ménière disease. New treatment drugs, such as SPI-1005 (Sound Pharmaceuticals) are currently under clinical trial. Furthermore, drugs are also being repurposed and investigated for their potential in treating Ménière disease.Discussion and Conclusion: Developing new drugs and investigating the pathophysiology of Ménière disease for subtyping is emerging. These may direct the future diagnosis and treatment of the disease and facilitate a better understanding of disease mechanisms. Patients with different subtypes of Ménière disease may require different treatment strategies, which can be achieved by personalized therapy, accurate prognosis prediction, and even, disease prevention.

Background and Objectives: To assess whether the audiological and clinical outcomes of type 0 tympanoplasty (T0) performed using cartilage were comparable with those of ossiculoplasty in patients who underwent canal wall down mastoidectomy (CWDM). Subjects and Methods: This study included patients who had chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma and underwent CWDM with ossiculoplasty involving partial ossicular replacement prosthesis (PORP), total ossicular replacement prosthesis (TORP), or T0. Anatomical success rates and hearing outcomes were analyzed. Results: Seventy-two patients were included in this study; 29 of them underwent CWDM with T0, 27 underwent CWDM with PORP, while 16 underwent CWDM with TORP. The difference in mean improvement in the air-bone gap (ABG) between the groups was not significant. The differences in the rates of ABG closure to ≤10 dB HL (p=0.030) and ≤20 dB HL (p=0.029) were significant. There were significant differences in improvements in the ABG at 3 kHz among the PORP, TORP, and T0 groups. Conclusions The audiological outcomes of CWDM with ossiculoplasty seemed to be better than those of CWDM with T0 with no significant difference in the incidence of complications following ossiculoplasty and T0.

Background and Objectives: To investigate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and hearing impairment (HI) in elderly Korean adults using a large-scale cohort data.Subjects and Method Data was collected on 729664 adults who underwent at least one health screening between 2009 and 2012 from the Korea National Health Insurance Service-Senior Cohort. The study utilized a Cox proportional hazards regression model to assess the relationship between MetS and the risk of developing HI. The results were presented as an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). All subjects were monitored until the occurrence of HI, death, or December 31, 2019. Results: A total of 10102 cases of HI were identified during the follow-up period of 4920397 person-years. In the crude model, MetS was linked to an increased risk of developing HI (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.10-1.19). No significant association was found after adjusting for potential confounding factors (aHR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.99-1.08). Abnormal triglyceride (TG) levels were associated with a higher risk of HI compared to normal TG levels (aHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.12). In addition, the risk of HI increased as TG levels increased (>150 mg/dL). Conclusion Abnormalities in TG levels were independently associated with an increased risk of HI among elderly adults. Management of TG levels may protect against the risk of incident HI.

Background and Objectives: To investigate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and hearing impairment (HI) in elderly Korean adults using a large-scale cohort data.Subjects and Method Data was collected on 729664 adults who underwent at least one health screening between 2009 and 2012 from the Korea National Health Insurance Service-Senior Cohort. The study utilized a Cox proportional hazards regression model to assess the relationship between MetS and the risk of developing HI. The results were presented as an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). All subjects were monitored until the occurrence of HI, death, or December 31, 2019. Results: A total of 10102 cases of HI were identified during the follow-up period of 4920397 person-years. In the crude model, MetS was linked to an increased risk of developing HI (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.10-1.19). No significant association was found after adjusting for potential confounding factors (aHR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.99-1.08). Abnormal triglyceride (TG) levels were associated with a higher risk of HI compared to normal TG levels (aHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.12). In addition, the risk of HI increased as TG levels increased (>150 mg/dL). Conclusion Abnormalities in TG levels were independently associated with an increased risk of HI among elderly adults. Management of TG levels may protect against the risk of incident HI.

Background and Objectives: To investigate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and hearing impairment (HI) in elderly Korean adults using a large-scale cohort data.Subjects and Method Data was collected on 729664 adults who underwent at least one health screening between 2009 and 2012 from the Korea National Health Insurance Service-Senior Cohort. The study utilized a Cox proportional hazards regression model to assess the relationship between MetS and the risk of developing HI. The results were presented as an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). All subjects were monitored until the occurrence of HI, death, or December 31, 2019. Results: A total of 10102 cases of HI were identified during the follow-up period of 4920397 person-years. In the crude model, MetS was linked to an increased risk of developing HI (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.10-1.19). No significant association was found after adjusting for potential confounding factors (aHR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.99-1.08). Abnormal triglyceride (TG) levels were associated with a higher risk of HI compared to normal TG levels (aHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.12). In addition, the risk of HI increased as TG levels increased (>150 mg/dL). Conclusion Abnormalities in TG levels were independently associated with an increased risk of HI among elderly adults. Management of TG levels may protect against the risk of incident HI.

Background and Objectives: To investigate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and hearing impairment (HI) in elderly Korean adults using a large-scale cohort data.Subjects and Method Data was collected on 729664 adults who underwent at least one health screening between 2009 and 2012 from the Korea National Health Insurance Service-Senior Cohort. The study utilized a Cox proportional hazards regression model to assess the relationship between MetS and the risk of developing HI. The results were presented as an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). All subjects were monitored until the occurrence of HI, death, or December 31, 2019. Results: A total of 10102 cases of HI were identified during the follow-up period of 4920397 person-years. In the crude model, MetS was linked to an increased risk of developing HI (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.10-1.19). No significant association was found after adjusting for potential confounding factors (aHR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.99-1.08). Abnormal triglyceride (TG) levels were associated with a higher risk of HI compared to normal TG levels (aHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.12). In addition, the risk of HI increased as TG levels increased (>150 mg/dL). Conclusion Abnormalities in TG levels were independently associated with an increased risk of HI among elderly adults. Management of TG levels may protect against the risk of incident HI.

Background and Objectives: To investigate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and hearing impairment (HI) in elderly Korean adults using a large-scale cohort data.Subjects and Method Data was collected on 729664 adults who underwent at least one health screening between 2009 and 2012 from the Korea National Health Insurance Service-Senior Cohort. The study utilized a Cox proportional hazards regression model to assess the relationship between MetS and the risk of developing HI. The results were presented as an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). All subjects were monitored until the occurrence of HI, death, or December 31, 2019. Results: A total of 10102 cases of HI were identified during the follow-up period of 4920397 person-years. In the crude model, MetS was linked to an increased risk of developing HI (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.10-1.19). No significant association was found after adjusting for potential confounding factors (aHR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.99-1.08). Abnormal triglyceride (TG) levels were associated with a higher risk of HI compared to normal TG levels (aHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.12). In addition, the risk of HI increased as TG levels increased (>150 mg/dL). Conclusion Abnormalities in TG levels were independently associated with an increased risk of HI among elderly adults. Management of TG levels may protect against the risk of incident HI.

Mycobacterium massiliense (M. massiliense) is a novel nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and an opportunistic pathogen that lives in the water, soil, food, and air. It is a subspecies of the rapidly growing mycobacteria Mycobacterium abscessus. This atypical pathogen has been reported mainly in patients with lung disease or those undergoing cosmetic or surgical procedures. A 62-year-old woman presented with productive otorrhea for 10 months, no history of surgery, and chronic otitis media. M. massiliense was identified from a tissue specimen using real-time polymerase chain reaction for NTM (Biosewoom, Seoul, Korea), and NTM was identified by acid-fast bacilli culture. Successful treatment consisted of clarithromycin for 4 months. No other case of chronic otitis media related to M. massiliense has been reported. This is the first confirmed case of chronic otitis media caused by M. massiliense in a healthy adult in South Korea.