A review on tinnitus and auditory sensitivity was presented, allowing the reader a broad view of the approach to these patients, based on scientific evidence and national experience.

Estudo de coorte contemporânea longitudinal. A muda vocal pode ser definida como um conjunto de mudanças no padrão da voz, que ocorreria entre a infância e a puberdade. Neste período, algumas lesões das pregas vocais, mais especificamente os cistos e nódulos, podem sofrer transformações. OBJETIVO: Avaliar as modificações que a muda vocal determinou nas pregas vocais de crianças com alterações estruturais, como nódulos, cisto ou sulco. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Foram reavaliados todos os exames de videolaringoscopia ou nasofibroscopia de crianças menores de dez anos que apresentavam alterações estruturais nas pregas vocais, nódulos, cistos, ou sulcos realizados no ambulatório de laringologia da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo, durante o período de 1997 a 2002. Destas crianças, todas as que já tinham passado pela muda vocal foram convocadas para repetir o exame e responder a um questionário referente à muda. RESULTADOS: Foram avaliadas onze crianças nas quais observou-se expressiva diminuição da queixa de disfonia após a muda. As lesões tipo espessamento tenderam a ser reabsorvidas e as lesões tipo abaulamento sofreram transformações sem desaparecer. CONCLUSÃO: A caracterização da lesão e das conseqüentes modificações que ocorrem com a muda são fundamentais na conduta frente uma criança com disfonia.

Facial nerve hemangioma is a rare and benign vascular tumor, and accounts for 0.7% of intratemporal tumors. We report the second case described in the literature of a facial nerve hemangioma in its tympanic segment. A 14-year-old male patient presented with a history of progressive right ear hearing loss with preserved facial mimicry. Pure tone audiometry showed a right ear moderate conductive hearing loss. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated an expansive lesion involving the tympanic segment of the right facial nerve, suggestive of hemangioma. Watchful waiting was chosen as management. In the first case of middle ear facial hemangioma described in the literature, facial palsy was the symptom that led the patient to seek medical care. In the present case, it can be inferred that the first symptom was conductive hearing loss ipsilateral to the lesion. Facial palsy may not be present and the clinical presentation may resemble otosclerosis, ossicular chain disruption, and third window abnormalities, among other differential diagnoses of conductive hearing loss. The second case of tympanic portion facial nerve hemangioma is reported, describing the specificity of conductive hearing loss as its only clinical manifestation.

Di zziness is frequent in elderly people. Aims:To evaluate the Quality of Life (QoL) in elderly subjects with dizziness, relate it with gender and age. Material and Method:A prospective study comprising 120 elderly patients with dizziness evaluated with Brazilian versions of the Whoqol-bref and the dizziness handicap inventory (DHI). The factor analysis (FA), the Mann Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests, and the Spearman correlation were applied to study the results. Results:The most compromised domains were the DHI physical domain and the Whoqol-bref physical and environment domains. FA resulted in 3 factors in the DHI and 5 factors in the Whoqolbref. There was a moderate correlation (-0.596) in the total scores of both instruments. Males had a better QoL in the "environment perception and introspectivity" and "health perception" factors of the Whoqol-bref test. Females had a better QoL in the "functionality perception" factor of the Whoqol-bref test. There were no significant age differences. Conclusions:Elderly patients with dizziness have a worse QoL. Elderly females with dizziness have worse QoL scores in "environment perception and introspectivity" and "health perception" and better QoL in the "functionality perception" factor compared to elderly males. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2010;76(6):769-75. ORIGINAL ARTICLE