• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.99-102
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• 2020

Trichofolliculoma (TF) is a follicular hamartoma in which hairs protruding out of single orifice. To the best of my knowledge, only two auricular TF has been reported in the English literature. Moreover, clinically TF have been described to mimic malignancy. I present a case of an adult female with mass at the intertragal notch of the left auricle for several years. The clinical diagnosis was thought to be epidermoid cyst, accessory tragus, and other benign skin adnexal tumor. To prevent recurrence, the wide local excision of the mass was performed. The final diagnosis of TF was made. No recurrence was noted during the follow-up of 1 year. It is important for otologists to be familiar with the clinical and pathologic characterization of TF, to make the correct diagnosis.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.53-60
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• 2020

Several novel animal models that represent the pathophysiological process of endolymphatic hydrops (ELH) of Meniere's disease (MD) have been developed. Animal models are important to identify and characterize the pathophysiology of ELH and to corroborate molecular and genetic findings in humans. This review of the current animal models will be useful in understanding the pathophysiology of and developing proper treatments for MD. Surgical animal models will be replaced by medication-induced animal models. Study models previously developed in guinea pigs will be developed in several smaller animals for ease of conducting molecular analysis. In this review, we provided updated resources including our previous studies regarding the current and desirable animal models for MD.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.110-114
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• 2021

We report a case of hearing rehabilitation following combined cochlear implantation and ossiculoplasty. A 71-year-old patient visited the clinic for right-sided mixed hearing loss. We targeted neural and conductive components, performing two different operations simultaneously. At two months post-operative, the patient showed satisfactory results with respect to hearing threshold and speech comprehension. Our experience suggests that careful evaluation of patients and consideration of the diverse array of available treatment strategies can be used to provide personalized rehabilitation with maximal effectiveness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to take such an integrated approach to treat hearing impairment and is thus likely to have clinical importance for otologists.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.235-240
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• 2021

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a common disorder; however, sequential, bilateral presentation of the disease is rarer than unilateral presentation. Clinical otologists usually focus on treating the side with impaired hearing when patients first present with unilateral SSNHL, and therefore, may not warn patients of the possibility of subsequent hearing impairment in the contralateral ear. Furthermore, it is professionally discouraging when a patient presents with profound, sequential SSNHL after initial treatment. This may adversely impact the doctor-patient relationship, even if the patient is offered the best possible care from their first visit. Herein, we report the case of a patient with profound, idiopathic, bilateral SSNHL with a time interval of 37 days between involvement of both ears. Even though high-dose steroids were administered intraorally and intratympanically, the patient's hearing was not restored, and the patient eventually required bilateral cochlear implant surgery. Our report demonstrates that sequential, profound, bilateral SSNHL may manifest without any specific signs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.130-141
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• 2022

Voice and speech therapy can be performed in various ways depending on the situation, although it is generally performed in a face-to-face manner. Telepractice refers to the provision of specialized voice and speech therapy by speech-language pathologists for assessment, therapy, and counseling by applying telecommunication technology from a remote location. Recently, due to the pandemic situation and the active use of non-face-to-face platforms, interest in telepractice of voice and speech therapy has increased. Moreover, a growing body of literature has been advocating its clinical usefulness and non-inferiority to traditional face-to-face intervention. In this review, the existing discussions, guidelines, and preliminary studies on non-face-toface voice and speech therapy were summarized, and recommendations on the tools for telepractice were provided.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.183-187
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• 2022

Dysphonia is well known as one of the otolaryngological symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. The vocal changes of the COVID-19 condition have been reported in terms of parameters of multi-dimensional voice assessment, including acoustic analysis, auditory-perceptual evaluation, and psychometric assessment. However, there has not been a daily followup study in patients with acute COVID-19 infection. In this study, a 41-year-old male performed daily voice recordings of vowel phonation and passage-reading tasks during the self-quarantine period of one week. Compared to the normal voice status of the prepandemic period, voice abnormalities peaked on day two after the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection and recovered after one week.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.135-139
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: This study was undertaken to investigate the educational status in bilateral prelingual deaf children with a cochlear implant (CI), also known as early cochlear implantees (CIs). Type of schooling and enrollment rate of tertiary education were analyzed as primary results. Subjects and Methods: Participants in this study comprised a highly homogeneous group of deaf patients who underwent cochlear implantation at a similar age. Sixty-four Korean patients were enrolled. Statistical data for disabled populations and the general population were obtained from the National Statistics Korea. Results: Among 64 patients, 46, 8, and 10 attended mainstream, integrated, and special schools, respectively. Notably, there was a significant difference in the type of school between hearing-impaired and CI groups (p=0.007). Ten of 13 patients enrolled in tertiary education. Conclusions: CI users were more likely than hearing impaired students to attend mainstream school. The enrollment rate of CI users in tertiary education was the same as that of the general population.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.135-139
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: This study was undertaken to investigate the educational status in bilateral prelingual deaf children with a cochlear implant (CI), also known as early cochlear implantees (CIs). Type of schooling and enrollment rate of tertiary education were analyzed as primary results. Subjects and Methods: Participants in this study comprised a highly homogeneous group of deaf patients who underwent cochlear implantation at a similar age. Sixty-four Korean patients were enrolled. Statistical data for disabled populations and the general population were obtained from the National Statistics Korea. Results: Among 64 patients, 46, 8, and 10 attended mainstream, integrated, and special schools, respectively. Notably, there was a significant difference in the type of school between hearing-impaired and CI groups (p=0.007). Ten of 13 patients enrolled in tertiary education. Conclusions: CI users were more likely than hearing impaired students to attend mainstream school. The enrollment rate of CI users in tertiary education was the same as that of the general population.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.59-62
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• 2019

Primary tumors arising from the external auditory canal (EAC) are rare. We describe two cases of mass lesions within the EAC causing slowly progressive hearing loss without otorrhea or otalgia. Otoendoscopic examination demonstrated total obstruction of the EAC, and pure tone audiometry revealed conductive hearing loss. Based on the findings of the histopathologic examination, one patient was diagnosed with venous hemangioma that was treated using surgical resection, and the other patient was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) that was treated using external-beam radiation therapy. Although primary tumors in the EAC are rare, both benign tumors such as venous hemangiomas and malignant lesions such as DLBCL should be considered as possible differential diagnoses of mass lesions in the EAC.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.160-166
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• 2019

Lots of neuroimaging and animal studies have revealed that tinnitus and hyperacusis share the same patterns in the bottom up central auditory process. The aim was to identify the abnormal central patterns commonly observed in both tinnitus and hyperacusis in humans. We investigated two cases of normal hearing: a tinnitus patient and a hyperacusis patient. We compared the differences between the severe temporal hyper-activated state (STHS), with spikes, fast beta and gamma frequencies after noise exposure, and the mild temporal hyperactivated state (MTHS), in no sound exposed condition. The power of the gamma band in the two cases was increased in both auditory cortices compared to the other brain regions. Our results of human with normal hearing were the first to identify how tinnitus and hyperacusis caused by sound are abnormally active and how they maintain constant pathological states.