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Objective: This study was conducted to present the long-term functional outcomes of injection laryngoplasty (IL) with hyaluronic acid/dextranomer (HA/D) in unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP)., Methods: A total of 40 patients who underwent HA/D injection for UVFP were enrolled. The acoustic analysis of the voice was evaluated with jitter percentage, shimmer percentage, maximum phonation time, harmonics-to-noise ratio, and fundamental frequency. The psychosocial effect of the voice was determined using the Voice Handicap Index-10. Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing was performed and 2 scales were used for quantification: a modified penetration-aspiration scale and a dysphagia score. All measurements were performed at preoperative day and postoperative months 1, 6, and 24., Results: A statistically significant improvement was observed for all of the evaluated parameters except the maximum phonation time for postoperative months 1, 6, and 24 ( P  < .05). In the evaluation of the maximum phonation time, although there was a significant improvement for the postoperative months 1 and 6, no significant difference was observed between the postoperative 24th month and the preoperative value., Conclusions: HA/D injection laryngoplasty is an effective method both in the short- and long-term to improve voice and swallowing functions in patients with UVFP., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Aims: Digital noise reduction (DNR) minimizes the effect of noise on speech signals by continuously monitoring frequency bands in the presence of noise. In the present study, we explored the effect of DNR technology on speech intelligibility in individuals using hearing aids (HAs) and investigated implications for daily use., Methods and Material: Eighteen participants with bilateral moderate sensorineural hearing loss (aged 16-45 years) were included. Bilateral receiver-in-the-ear HAs were fitted in the participants. The adaptive and nonadaptive (with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of +5 and -5 dB, respectively) Turkish matrix sentence test (TURMatrix) in noise and free-field hearing assessments, including hearing thresholds with hearing aids, speech recognition thresholds (SRT), and speech discrimination scores, were conducted in two different conditions: HA in the DNR-on and DNR-off conditions., Results: No significant difference was observed between free-field hearing assessments with the HA in the DNR-off and DNR-on conditions (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the adaptive and nonadaptive TURMatrix revealed significant differences between the scores under the DNR-on and DNR-off conditions (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, under the DNR-on condition, there was no correlation between free-field hearing assessments with HA and TURMatrix results (P > 0.05). However, a significant correlation was observed between SRT scores with HA and TURMatrix scores (adaptive and nonadaptive, +5 and -5 dB SNR, respectively) under the DNR-off condition (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Our study findings suggest that DNR can improve speech intelligibility in noisy environments. Therefore, DNR can enhance an individual's auditory comfort by improving their capacity to grasp speech in background noise., (Copyright © 2024 Noise & Health.)

Background/aim: This study investigated the possible degeneration in cochlear morphology induced by preeclampsia (PE) and the therapeutic/preventive effect of vitamin D (Vit D) and magnesium sulfate (MgSO 4 ) used separately and together on feto-maternal outcomes., Materials and Methods: We created PE in rats using a reduced uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) animal model and recorded blood pressure (BP), embryonic survival (ES), and embryonic weight (EW) and evaluated cochlear morphology by electron microscopy., Results: The PE group had elevated BP, a decreased number and weight of live pups, and significant degeneration in the cochlea compared to the sham group. In the PEV group, we observed significant beneficial effects of Vit D supplementation at 14.5 and 19.5 dpc in terms of BP (p < 0.05), EW (p < 0.001), and cochlear degeneration compared to the PE group. In the PEM group, BP (p < 0.05) and cochlear degeneration nearly reached the level found in the sham group. However, although the EW was statistically different in the PE group, it did not reach sham group levels. We also observed that BP returned to sham level (p < 0.01) and noticed significant increases in the EW (p < 0.0001) and ES (p = 0.017) in the PEMV group compared to the PE group. According to the scanning electron microscope results, combined administration of VitD and MgSO 4 is more effective than separate administration in improving cochlear degeneration induced by PE., Conclusion: The administration of Vit D and MgSO 4 during pregnancy has beneficial effects on PE pathology and may play a significant role in preventing PE-related complications, including cochlear degeneration., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this research. This study did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors., (© TÜBİTAK.)

Background: The aim of the study was comparing the diagnostic role of the white light (WL) endoscopy, video laryngostroboscopy (VLS), and narrow-band imaging (NBI) in the evaluation of the benign vocal fold lesions., Material and Methods: From March 2018 to June 2019, a total of 118 cases were enrolled in this study. Ninety-eight patients were suspected with vocal fold nodules, cysts, polyps, and sulcus vocalis and 20 patients without a history of dysphonia. Each patient was examined by WL, VLS, and NBI endoscopy. Recorded images and videos were analyzed and scored by three otorhinolaryngologists who had at least 3 years of experience in phoniatrics field. The evaluation results were compared between the methods and the physicians., Results: A total of 118 cases were grouped by their confirmed diagnosis, vocal fold nodules (n = 28), vocal fold cyst (n = 24), vocal fold polyp (n = 9), and sulcus vocalis (n = 37). When the correct diagnosis rates of the physicians were compared, the statistical significance was found between the physicians in the WL and VLS method (P= 0.014, P= 0.027). No statistically significant difference was found among physicians in NBI method (P = 0.368). The difference between the diagnostic methods was found to be statistically significant in reaching the accurate diagnosis for benign vocal fold lesions (P< 0.001). While the difference between NBI-WL and VLS-WL was statistically significant (P< 0.001 and P< 0.001). The difference between NBI-VLS was not statistically significant while evaluating the vocal fold nodules, cysts, and sulcus vocalis separately (P= 0.102, P = 0.026, P = 0.157). Otherwise, it was statistically significant (P= 0.002) while evaluating total benign lesions in the study. The difference between NBI-VLS combination and VLS, NBI-VLS combination and VLS-WL combination were statistically significant (P< 0.001 and P= 0.001)., Conclusion: This study showed that NBI assessments have similar accuracy and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) to VLS and have a higher value than WL endoscopy in reaching the diagnosis for benign vocal fold lesions. Therefore, NBI can be accepted as a promising approach to identify benign laryngeal lesions due to its optical properties., (Copyright © 2021 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hyaluronic acid injection on dysphagia, aspiration, and voice problems in patients with persistent functional problems despite appropriate rehabilitation after partial laryngectomy., Methods: Seventeen patients who underwent hyaluronic acid injection due to persistent swallowing, aspiration, and voice problems after partial laryngectomy surgery were included in the study. The hyaluronic acid injection was performed after 2 years of follow-up after partial laryngectomy surgery. Evaluation of swallowing was performed through a fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing and was quantified using two scales: a dysphagia score and a modified penetration-aspiration scale. Voice Handicap Index-10 was used for the determination of the psychosocial handicapping effects of the voice. Jitter percent, shimmer percent, fundamental frequency, harmonics-to-noise ratio, and maximum phonation time were evaluated for the acoustic analysis of the voice. All measurements were performed at preoperative day and postoperative months 1, 6, and 24., Results: A statistically significant improvement was observed for all of the evaluated parameters except the harmonics-to-noise ratio for postoperative months 1 and 6 (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the postoperative sixth month and the preoperative value of the harmonics-to-noise ratio. A statistically significant improvement was observed between the postoperative 24th month and preoperatively for jitter percent, shimmer percent, fundamental frequency, maximum phonation time, dysphagia, and penetration aspiration score (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Surgical rehabilitation should be considered along with conservative treatments to improve swallowing and voice function after partial laryngectomy. Hyaluronic acid injection may be an effective method both in the short and long term for the surgical rehabilitation of persisting functional problems that may occur following partial laryngectomies., (Copyright © 2020 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)