Agnieszka Szczepek

Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin | Charité · Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery

Tinnitus is a subjective phantom sound perceived only by the affected person and a symptom of various auditory and non-auditory conditions. The majority of methods used in clinical and basic research for tinnitus diagnosis are subjective. To better understand tinnitus-associated changes in the auditory system, an objective technique measuring audit...

Research in hearing science is accelerating, and a wealth of data concerning auditory brainstem responses (ABR) in various animal models is published in peer-reviewed journals every year. Recently, we reviewed studies using ABR measurements in tinnitus rat models. We found significant discrepancies in the outcomes of these studies, some due to diff...

Permanent hearing loss is one of cisplatin's adverse effects, affecting 30-60% of cancer patients treated with that drug. Our research group recently identified resident mast cells in rodents' cochleae and observed that the number of mast cells changed upon adding cisplatin to cochlear explants. Here, we followed that observation and found that the...

Transmembrane protein 119 (TMEM119) is expressed in a subset of resident macrophage cells of the brain and was proposed as a marker for native brain microglia. The presence of cells expressing TMEM119 in the cochlea has not yet been described. Thus, the present study aimed to characterize the TMEM119-expressing cells of the postnatal and adult coch...

Translational audiology research aims to transfer basic research findings into practical clinical applications. While animal studies provide essential knowledge for translational research, there is an urgent need to improve the reproducibility of data derived from these studies. Sources of variability in animal research can be grouped into three ar...

Background Medical schools teach Medical Humanities (MH) to provide students with knowledge about the human experience related to health, illness, disease, medicine, and healthcare. Due to the previously observed negative opinions about MH courses, we examined the expectations of medical students in Poland toward humanities subjects. Methods We co...

Cochlear implant (CI) treatment is now established as a successful standard of care for auditory rehabilitation of profoundly deaf or severe hearing loss patients. CI candidates with tinnitus also benefit from improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and tinnitus burden. Current CI indications include bilateral (double-sided) profound hearin...

The importance of translational research in the medical sciences is growing logarithmically, as this type of research provides the translation of basic research into a clinical product (a drug, therapeutic agent or means of monitoring a disease), as well as the inverse translation of clinical findings into basic research models [...]

Background: Histamine is a widely distributed biogenic amine with multiple biological functions mediated by specific receptors that determine the local effects of histamine. This review aims to summarize the published findings on the expression and functional roles of histamine receptors in the inner ear and to identify potential research hotspots...

Background: Patients with single-sided deafness (SSD) and asymmetric hearing loss (AHL) are increasingly being treated with cochlear implants (CI) due to the demonstrated improvements in auditory abilities and quality of life. To date, there are few published studies in which these two groups are comparatively studied. The aim of the current study...

This work investigated the effects of cisplatin on the cochlear mast cells

Background: Severe asthma (SA) with comorbid chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is frequently associated with type 2 (T2) inflammatory endotype. Consequently, therapeutic targets are T2 biologics. The present retrospective study aimed to analyze and compare the clinical efficacy of mepolizumab, benralizumab, omalizumab, and dupiluma...

Introduction Auditory rehabilitation with a cochlear implant (CI), in many cases, positively impacts tinnitus. However, it is unclear if the tinnitus-related benefit of CI is equal for patients with various indications for CI. Therefore, this study aimed to determine differences in tinnitus prevalence and distress, health-related quality of life, s...

Medical humanities (MH) courses are a critical element of the medical curriculum influ-encing the establishment of a physician in the medical profession. However, the opinion about MHamong medical students remains unknown. Interviews from seven focus groups were analysed.The students attended one of three Polish medical schools in Gdansk, Krakow, a...

(1) Background: Sensorineural hearing loss is a common and debilitating condition. To date, comprehensive pharmacologic interventions are not available. The complex and diverse molecu-lar pathology that underlies hearing loss may limit our ability to intervene with small molecules. The current review foccusses on the potential for the use of extrac...

This work used publically available data from clinical trials to assess the outcomes of safety pharmacology regarding tinnitus reported during clinical trials or postmarketing surveillance. The data concerning adverse effects induced by prototype drugs for tinnitus was derived from ClinicalTrial.gov. Even though none of the prototype drugs for tinn...

Translational research is a process that focuses on advancing basic research-based clinical solutions and is characterized by a structured process accelerating the implementation of scientific discoveries in healthcare. Translational research originated in oncology but has spread to other disciplines in recent decades. A translational project may r...

COVID-19 took the world by surprise at the beginning of 2020. Until today, serious flu symptoms, severe pneumonia, lung or kidney failure, and death caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus intimidate populations worldwide. After a few months of the pandemic, it became clear that not all those who underwent COVID-19 fully recovered and that the long-term aff...

The Weber tuning fork test is a standard otologic examination tool in patients with unilateral hearing loss. Sound should typically lateralize to the contralateral side in unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The observation that the Weber test does not lateralize in some patients with longstanding unilateral deafness has been previously describe...

This study aimed to explore the effect of COVID-19 and the pandemic period on the tinnitus-related complaints of patients with chronic tinnitus. Ninety-six patients who were diagnosed with chronic tinnitus before the pandemic were enrolled in this study. Before the pandemic and in January 2022, all patients used the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to ass...

Mast cells (MC) are immune cells of hematopoietic origin widely distributed in the mammalian body's connective tissue. Their activity plays a potential immunoregulatory role associated with allergic reactions, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and neuronal diseases. Previously, the inner ear‐related MCs were described in the endolymphatic sac. However, t...

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with (CRSwNP) or without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) is a persistent, heterogeneous inflammatory condition affecting the upper respiratory tract. The present study aimed to improve the characterization of CRS endotypes based on the chemokine and cytokine expression pattern in the CRS tissues. Concentrations of chemokines and...

Medical humanity is an essential element of medical education, and the respective courses are introduced to the curricula of medical schools worldwide. However, significant differences in this type of medical education were identified in Italy, Spain, and the UK. In Poland, this issue was not yet analyzed. The classes offered on a compulsory and no...

Severe sensorineural hearing loss can be a symptom of the benign tumor vestibular schwannoma (VS). The treatment of VS with non-invasive stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) offers a high local tumor control rate and an innovative possibility of sequential hearing rehabilitation with cochlear implantation. This study evaluated the feasibility, complicat...

Intralabyrinthine schwannoma (ILS) is a rare benign tumor of the inner ear potentially causing unilateral sensorineural hearing loss and vertigo. This study evaluated the outcome of one surgical session comprising microsurgical ILS resection and cochlear implantation in terms of surgical feasibility, complications, and auditory outcome. Ten clinica...

Several studies demonstrated the association of hearing disorders with neurocognitive deficits and dementia disorders, but little is known about the effects of auditory rehabilitation on the cognitive performance of the elderly. Therefore, the research question of the present study was whether cochlear implantation, performed in 21 patients over 70...

Purpose: Bilateral cochlear implant (CI) implantation is increasingly used in the auditory rehabilitation of bilaterally deafened adults. However, after successful unilateral implantation, objective patient counselling is essential. Methods: We investigated the extra benefit of a second CI in adults in terms of health-related quality of life, ti...

The original version of this chapter unfortunately contained two errors: in author name and order of author.

The presented prospective study investigated whether structural brain damage, measured with the Fazekas score, could predict hearing rehabilitation outcomes with cochlear implantation (CI). With a follow-up period of 24 months, this study included 49 bilaterally, postlingually hearing impaired CI candidates for unilateral CI (67.3 ± 8.7 years; 20 m...

Subjective tinnitus is a phantom sound heard only by the affected person and may be a symptom of various diseases. Tinnitus diagnosis and monitoring is based on subjective audiometric and psychometric methods. This review aimed to synthesize evidence for tinnitus presence or its severity. We searched several electronic databases, citation searches...

This volume has highlighted the many recent advances in tinnitus theory, models, diagnostics, therapies, and therapeutics. But tinnitus knowledge is far from complete. In this chapter, contributors to the Behavioral Neuroscience of Tinnitus consider emerging topics and areas of research needed in light of recent findings. New research avenues and m...

Emotional stress has accompanied humans since the dawn of time and has played an essential role not only in positive selection and adaptation to an ever-changing environment, but also in the acceleration or even initiation of many illnesses. The three main somatic mechanisms induced by stress are the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis),...

The subjective visual vertical (SVV) evaluates the function of the utricle, which, in patients with Menière’s disease (MD), can be affected by endolymphatic hydrops. This study aimed to determine the SVV in MD patients during the chronic phase of illness compared to healthy participants.The second aim was to compare the SVV measurement tools: the a...

he diagnostics of inner ear diseases are primarily functional, but there is a growing interest in inner ear biomarkers. The present scoping review aimed to elucidate gaps in the literature regarding the definition, classification system, and an overview of the potential uses of inner ear biomarkers. Relevant biomarkers were categorized, and their p...

Aim The present review aimed to consolidate and analyze the recent information about the use of zebrafish in studies concerning cisplatin-induced ototoxicity and otoprotection. Material and methods The PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databanks were searched using the following MESH terms: zebrafish, cisplatin, ototoxicity. The identified public...

Tinnitus is a phantom percept of noise heard only by the affected person. The principal problem of persons suffering from tinnitus is the inability to deflect their attention from the phantom sound, resulting in insomnia and problems with concentration, followed by significant health issues. To date, no therapy would relieve patients from the phant...

The mouse is the most widely used animal model in hearing research. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescent staining of murine cochlear sections have, thus, remained a backbone of inner ear research. Since many primary antibodies are raised in mouse, the problem of “mouse‐on‐mouse” background arises due to the interaction between the anti‐mouse...

Mast cells (MCs) are densely granulated cells of myeloid origin and are a part of immune and neuroimmune systems. MCs have been detected in the endolymphatic sac of the inner ear and are suggested to regulate allergic hydrops. However, their existence in the cochlea has never been documented. In this work, we show that MCs are present in the cochle...

Aim: The present review aimed to consolidate and analyze the recent information about the use of zebrafish in studies concerning cisplatin-induced ototoxicity and otoprotection. Material and methods: The PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databanks were searched using the following MESH terms: zebrafish, cisplatin, ototoxicity. The identified publi...

Mandible displacement is known to correlate with otological conditions such as pain in the ear canal, hearing loss, or tinnitus. The present work aimed to determine the association between the displacement of the condyle in a temporomandibular joint, the structure and position of the petrotympanic fissure (PTF), and comorbid tinnitus in patients af...

A patient with severe CRSwNP, asthma, and NSAIDS received dupilumab treatment. Three weeks after therapy onset, the patient was diagnosed with Covid-19, had a mild course of the disease, and fully recovered from the infection.

Purpose: The non-invasive diagnosis of acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) remains an unresolved problem of modern otolaryngology. Analog diaphanoscopy of reduced transillumination (shading) could be enhanced by a digital image processing of the maxillary sinuses. By this means, the limited ergonomics of this safe and low-cost method can be overcome, and m...

Tinnitus – the perception of phantom sound – is estimated to seriously affect the quality of life of about 3% of the entire world population, making it an attractive target for pharmacotherapy. However, none of the so far conducted clinical trials with the use of pharmacological substances could be called a thrilling success. There are multiple rea...

Objective: Tinnitus is associated with various conditions such as presbycusis, infectious, autoimmune and many other diseases. Our study aims to identify an association between inflammatory markers and the presence of tinnitus or hearing loss (HL). Design: Exploratory study including a structured interview, complete ENT observation, audiological an...

Patients scheduled for cochlear implantation often retain residual hearing in the low frequencies. Unfortunately, some patients lose their residual hearing following implantation and the reasons for this are not well understood. Evidence suggests that electrotoxicity could be one of the factors responsible for this late adverse effect. Therefore, t...

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Background Tinnitus is often classified into acute or chronic persistent forms. However, epidemiologic studies have shown that intermittent tinnitus (IT), which does not clearly belong to either category, is the most common form.Objective The aim of this study was to further characterize IT empirically.Materials and methodsWe conducted an explorato...

Background Analgesic intolerance (AI) is an important diagnostic feature of disease progression in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) accompanied by nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and asthma. Objective The aim of the present study was to determine whether increasing the concentration of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) used in the diagnostic nasal challe...

Introduction: Increasing number of older adults undergo cochlear implantation (CI). Accumulating evidence implicates that the outcome of implantation may not only depend on physical and psychological health status of patients but also on their age. In the present work, we analyzed the elderly (70-80) and very old (80+) patients who underwent CI re...

Objective: To compare outcomes of bilateral cochlear implantation between simultaneous and sequential surgeries. Study design: Retrospective study of surgical outcome for 54 children who received bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) over a five-year period. Setting: Tertiary health care PATIENTS:: We analyze surgical outcomes for 54 children who...

Background Tinnitus frequently occurs alongside psychological comorbidities whose assessment is important for treatment planning and -success. The selection of suitable questionnaires is thus crucial. The present study aims to investigate the ICD-10 Symptom Rating (ISR) to this regard. Methods The current study investigated tinnitus burden and psy...

Zusammenfassung Die Entwicklungen der letzten Jahre haben gezeigt, dass die Rehabilitation mit Hörimplantaten in der HNO-Heilkunde ein Bereich mit höchstem Entwicklungs- und Innovationspotenzial ist. Neue, bzw. erweiterte Indikationen gingen dabei einher mit Entwicklungen im Bereich der Implantate, neuen OP-Techniken und entsprechend angepassten Re...

Background Psychological comorbidities are frequent in tinnitus patients and their diagnosis is important for both interventions as well as treatment success. The selection of suitable questionnaires is thus crucial. The present study aimed to investigate the ICD-10 Symptom Rating (ISR) questionnaire for the diagnosis of psychological comorbidities...

Background Tinnitus is often classified into acute or chronic persistent forms. However, epidemiologic studies have shown that intermittent tinnitus (IT), which does not clearly belong to either category, is the most common form. Objective The aim of this study was to further characterize IT empirically. Materials and methods We conducted an expl...

Background: The non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)-exacerbated respiratory disease (N-ERD) complicates the clinical course of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and severe asthma. Our aim was to determine the detection rate of N-ERD in patients with CRSwNP, asthma and various history of NSAID intolerance by means of nasal...