The classical guinea pig model for Meniere's disease, in which endolymphatic hydrops was achieved by destruction of the endolymphatic sac and obliteration of the endolymphatic duct, is a non-physiological profound model with shortcomings in relation to Meniere's disease as seen in patients. We developed a more subtle animal model; the two-phase endolymphatic hydrops. This model is based on a combination of chronic endolymphatic sac dysfunction, induced by slight destruction of the most distal part of the endolymphatic sac, and acute stress-induced endolymph production by stimulation of the Na/K-ATPase in the stria vascularis with aldosterone. Light microscopy of the fluid compartments of four groups of cochleas was used to examine them for the presence of endolymphatic hydrops: i) Normal (control) cochleas showed no hydrops; ii) some of the non-operated (no destruction) aldosterone-treated cochleas showed small degrees of hydrops mainly present in the basal turns; iii) mild dissection of the endolymphatic sac without administration of aldosterone produced a hydrops which was mainly present in the cochlear apex; iv) combination of chronic endolymphatic sac dysfunction and acute attacks of endolymph production by aldosterone administration revealed the most severe degrees of hydrops in all cochlear windings, damage to cochlear structures, and cellular disturbances of the epithelial lining of the endolymphatic sac. This new model may represent a more physiologic and dynamic approach to Meniere's disease and may explain the etiology of many symptoms in patients such as the fluctuant nature and the types of sensoneuronal hearing losses.
Although in the past cochlear implantation was considered contraindicated in patients with acute (AOM) or chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) with or without middle ear cholesteatoma, recent developments now make it possible to perform cochlear implantation in these patients. Various procedures are available to make the ears of patients with either acute or CSOM suitable for cochlear implantation and to minimize the risk of recurrence of the disease, device extrusion, or intracranial complications. This review discusses these different approaches for optimizing implant survival and preventing complications related to otitis media. We performed a comprehensive literature search of the MEDLINE database. Cochlear implantation can be safely performed in patients with otitis media. However, the infection should be adequately controlled well before implantation, and all measures should be taken to prevent recurrent disease. Therefore, the procedure used should be tailored to individual clinical findings. This article provides a guideline to optimize the course of action in patients suffering from AOM, CSOM or their sequelae in preparation for cochlear implantation.
In all, 20% of the congenitally deaf children in our center study have inner ear abnormalities. Inner ear malformations were limited to incomplete partition of the cochlea; none of the subjects had common cavity malformations. Electrical compound action potentials were successfully recorded in both groups intraoperatively. Speech perception tests on open-set speech yielded an average of 48.8% (SD 21.2%) in the group of children with inner ear malformations vs 54.5% (SD 21.1%) in congenitally deaf children. In four of nine cases with an inner ear malformation we encountered a minor CSF leak.
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