We investigated hearing functions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using audiological tests and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs). The study group consisted of 20 adult patients with RA (7 males, 13 females); 20 adult healthy subjects without RA (7 males, 13 females) were recruited as controls. All patients were evaluated by pure tone audiometry, high frequency audiometry, tympanometry and TEOAEs. There were no statistical differences between the study and control groups with respect to the pure tone and high frequency audiometries. TEOAE results of 1.0-2.0 kHz % and of 1.5 and 3.0 kHz amplitude values were significantly lower, and ipsilateral stapes reflex threshold value at 1.0 kHz was significantly higher in the study group when compared to respective values in the control group. In elderly patients and those with longer disease duration, RA nodules and higher methotrexate cumulative doses, hearing thresholds increased and TEOAE values decreased. In active stage of the disease, hearing thresholds diminished and in higher Brinkman Index values, TEOAE values decreased. Compliance values decreased in patients with higher Ritchie Articular Index, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and platelet counts, and longer disease duration. Sensorineural hearing loss is generally observed in patients with RA, and this condition may be detected by TEOAEs in an early period of the disease. Inflammation during the active stage of the disease and the subsequent fibrosis may cause conductive hearing loss of varying degrees. In those patients detected as having initiation of TEOAE decrease, vasodilator treatment and antioxidant drugs may be useful in protecting the inner ear.

Objective: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is the most common cause of hearing loss in children. Early diagnosis is important as hearing loss affects speech and language development in children. The aim of this study was to compare conventional audiometry with the Android mobile operating system application Hearing Test TM in the evaluation of hearing thresholds in children with OME and to determine the accuracy and reliability of the mobile application. Design and Study Sample: Fifty school-age children aged between 5 and 15 years with OME in at least 1 ear were included in the study. First, hearing thresholds were obtained by conventional audiometric methods and the degree of hearing loss was determined. Then, the hearing thresholds of the patients were measured using the smartphone-based Hearing Test TM application. The data were compared using Cohen's kappa analysis. Results: OME was detected in 88 ears. There was no statistically significant correlation between the hearing threshold results obtained with the mobile phone and conventional audiometry at 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz. Conclusion: The Android mobile phone application Hearing Test TM (version 1.1.3) is not an appropriate screening test to detect hearing loss in children with OME.

Upper and lower airways can be considered as a unified morphofunctional unit. In this paper, nasobronchial interactions are evaluated based on literature.To discuss nasobronchial interactions, literature review from PubMed since 1982 is evaluated. Data base was including the terms "nasobronchial interaction, nasal and bronchial". Asthma and rhinosinusitis may be associated with environmental factors and immunological predisposition. Treatment of rhinosinusitis may decrease asthma exacerbations. It was concluded that "one airway, one disease"-concept may be accepted when considering naso-bronchial interaction. Asthma treatment should also mean treating the nose as good as treating patients with nasal symptoms. To reach the succesful results ıt should be associated with evaluation of lung functions.

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Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between nasal septal deviation and paranasal abnormalities in the etiology of primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction (PANDO). Methods: A total of 37 (8 men, 29 women) patients (48 eyes with PANDO) between the ages 20 and 77 years (mean age, 52.8 ± 13.1 years) were included in the study. In the axial sections of paranasal sinus computed tomography, the transverse diameters at the most upper part and the most distal part of the nasolacrimal canal were separately measured. In addition, the relationships between PANDO and nasal septal deviation, inferior turbinate hypertrophy, agger nasi cells, paradoxical middle turbinate, concha bullosa, and the angle between the bony inferior turbinate and medial wall of the maxillary sinus were investigated. Results: A statistically significant relationship was found between PANDO and the axial location of septal deviation classification, axial angle of septal deviation classification, paradoxical middle turbinate, angle between the bony inferior turbinate and medial wall of the maxillary sinus and inferior meatus measure. Conclusion: The authors concluded that the location and angle of the nasal septal deviation in the axial plane, width of the angle between the bony inferior turbinate and medial wall of the maxillary sinus, inferior meatus measure, and paradoxical middle turbinate may be effective factors in the etiology of PANDO.