Two hearing aids gave more self-reported benefit than one in age-related hearing loss

The edition in brief

In a single-blinded randomised trial at two US centres, 275 adults aged 50 or over with age-related hearing loss who were new to hearing aids received one or two receiver-in-the-canal aids. At three months, both groups improved on the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit, with bilateral aids giving about 5.3 points more benefit (1.8 to 8.8); the authors are unsure whether that difference is clinically meaningful. A meta-analysis of 47 studies and 30,002 head and neck free flaps found compromise in 8.2% and total failure in 3.9%. Prior radiotherapy carried the strongest association (OR 3.98), but fluid overload (2.57), long operations (2.14), low albumin (2.06), low BMI and low haemoglobin were modifiable. At a US safety-net hospital, 769 tonsillectomy specimens yielded no paediatric malignancy; 19 of 20 adult cancers were expected or suspected before surgery, and only one lymphoma was unexpected (0.22% of adult specimens). A blinded randomised trial of 44 patients found medial flap turbinoplasty gave better 12-month NOSE scores (18.5 vs 34.5) and less crusting than coblation.