The VSB is a safe and effective treatment option for adults with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss.

The surgical plane between the VIIth nerve and acoustic tumor is often elusive. This histological relationship was reviewed in three patients who underwent VII-VII neuroanastomosis at tumor removal disclosing an inseparable surgical plane in two. In the third patient, tissue sections did not accurately show the relationship. In all three, surgical planes were not apparent at tumor removal. Another patient had a second, isolated tumor in the same VIIIth nerve proximally at the brain stem root entry zone. This was seen only on permanent section. In considering "total" tumor removal by microsurgical standards, these histological findings should be kept in mind. We advocate removal of the entire VIIIth nerve to the brain stem root entry zone along with smaller tumors.

Immune-mediated inner ear disease, by convention called autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED), has established clinical profile guidelines for diagnosis. Treatment consists of steroid and/or cytotoxic drug immunosuppression. The role of plasmapheresis (PMP) in the treatment of AIED has not been defined. Lack of a precise serological marker prevents accurate immunological understanding. Definition is, of course, difficult in a disease whose natural history is not well delineated. Successful use of PMP in one steroid and cytotoxic drug intolerant patient with AIED led to its use in a total of eight patients. The rationale for PMP was based on its known effectiveness in other autoimmune diseases and thus, its potential use in AIED. Improved auditory function occurred in 6 of the 8 patients, 3 of whom have been followed for over 3 years. Three of the six no longer require immunosuppressant medication. PMP can be used as an alternative or adjunctive therapy in AIED. These preliminary results suggest PMP can stabilize or improve auditory and vestibular symptoms in selected patients. Its use as a first line therapy followed by cytotoxic immunosuppressants bears consideration.

We compared the effectiveness of 2 surgical interventions for improving word recognition ability in a quiet environment among patients who presented with: (1) bilateral, precipitously sloping, high-frequency hearing loss; (2) relatively good auditory thresholds at and below 500 Hz, and (3) poor speech recognition. In 1 intervention (n = 25), a conventional electrode array was inserted into 1 cochlea. As a consequence, hearing was lost in the implanted ear. In the other intervention (n = 22), a Nucleus Hybrid short-electrode array was inserted 10 mm into 1 cochlea with the aim of preserving hearing in that ear. Both groups of patients had similar low-frequency hearing and speech understanding in the ear contralateral to the implant. Following surgery, both groups had significantly higher word recognition scores than before surgery. Between-group comparisons indicated that the conventional electrode array group had higher word recognition scores than the 10-mm group when stimulation was presented to the operated ear and when stimulation was presented to both ears.

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