Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common disease that substantially impairs the quality of life (QoL). Here, we aimed to assess patients’ QoL in different subtypes of CRS and correlated this with nasal polyp size to improve the clinical understanding of the burden of disease. In this retrospective single-center study, 107 patients with the following diagnoses were analyzed: CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP), CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), or aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD). Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-20 German Adapted Version (SNOT-20 GAV) scores and their correlation with endoscopic Total Polyp Scores (TPS) were evaluated. The mean SNOT-20 GAV scores were highest in patients with AERD (AERD = 43.4, CRSwNP = 36.3, CRSsNP = 30.9). A statistically significant correlation of total SNOT-20 GAV score with TPS was observed in CRSwNP patients (r = 0.3398, p = 0.0195), but not in AERD patients (r = 0.2341, p = 0.1407). When analyzing single SNOT-20 parameters, a strong correlation with TPS was observed for blockage/congestion of the nose, particularly in AERD patients (r = 0.65, p < 0.0001). The impact of nasal polyp size on the QoL differs amongst the subgroups of CRS. Nasal symptoms have the greatest impact on QoL in patients suffering from AERD. CRSwNP and AERD patients should be separately analyzed in clinical investigations and interpretations due to significant differences in QoL.

Objective: To assess the audiological and long‐term medical and technical follow‐up outcomes of an active middle ear implant.Methods: This was a retrospective medical chart analysis of all patients provided with an active middle ear implant in a tertiary academic medical referral center between September 1, 1998, and July 31, 2015. Main outcome measures were medical and technical complications, revisions, reimplantations, explantations, coupling approaches, mean time of use, pre‐ and postoperative hearing thresholds, functional hearing gain across frequencies (250–4,000 Hz), and Freiburg monosyllablic word test at 65 dB.Results: One hundred and three patients were identified. Fifteen were implanted bilaterally (n = 118 Vibrant Soundbridge devices [MED‐EL, Innsbruck, Austria]). Seventy‐seven devices were implanted for sensorineural and 41 for mixed and conductive hearing loss. Patients used the implant for 6.7 years (range 0.7 months–17.9 years) on average. Ninety‐one patients (77.12%) were using the device at the end of the observation period. An overall complication rate of 16.1% was observed. The revision and explantation rates were higher for devices implanted between 2004 and 2006. The device failure rate was 3.4%. Audiological evaluation showed significant hearing gains for both hearing loss patient groups.Conclusion: This long‐term follow‐up reveals the reliability of the active middle ear implant in a single center. Overall complication rate and device failure rate are acceptable. The complication rate was higher during implementation of alternative coupling approaches. The audiological benefit was satisfactory in patients with all hearing loss types. The majority of implanted patients used the implant at the end of the observation period.Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 129:477–481, 2019

Objective: There is no consensus regarding the benefit of implantable hearing aids in congenital unilateral conductive hearing loss (UCHL). This study aimed to measure sound source localization performance in patients with congenital UCHL and contralateral normal hearing who received a new bone conduction implant. Study Design: Evaluation of within-subject performance differences for sound source localization in a horizontal plane. Setting: Tertiary referral center. Patients: Five patients with atresia of the external auditory canal and contralateral normal hearing implanted with transcutaneous bone conduction implant at the Medical University of Vienna were tested. Intervention: Activated/deactivated implant. Main Outcome Measure: Sound source localization test; localization performance quantified using the root mean square (RMS) error. Results: Sound source localization ability was highly variable among individual subjects, with RMS errors ranging from 21 to 40 degrees. Horizontal plane localization performance in aided conditions showed statistically significant improvement compared with the unaided conditions, with RMS errors ranging from 17 to 27 degrees. The mean RMS error decreased by a factor of 0.71 (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Analysis revealed improved sound localization performance in a horizontal plane with the activated transcutaneous bone conduction implant. Some patients with congenital UCHL might be capable of developing improved horizontal plane localization abilities with the binaural cues provided by this device.

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