The 17^th Scientific and Training Conference of the Audiological and Phoniatric Section of the Polish Society of Otorhinolaryngologists Head and Neck Surgeons (PTORL ChGiSz) took place in Łódź, on June 20-22, 2024. The event organizers were the 2^nd Department of Otolaryngology of the Faculty of Medicine of the Medical University of Lodz, the Department of Polish Dialectology and Logopedics of the Faculty of Philology of the University of Lodz, and the “Po Pierwsze Zdrowie” (Health First) Foundation. The Conference president was Prof. Jurek Olszewski, MD, Ph.D., the Head of the Second Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Otolaryngology, Laryngological Oncology, Audiology and Phoniatrics of the Medical University of Lodz.

During this year’s edition of the Conference, prominent specialists and practitioners in otorhinolaryngology, audiology, and phoniatrics coming from Poland and other countries discussed topics such as reduced tolerance to sounds, tinnitus, hearing screening in school-age children, the use of various hearing implants in the treatment of congenital defects and multiple types of hearing loss, selected problems of hearing prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation among the elderly, dilemmas and challenges of modern hearing care, advances in diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of voice and speech disorders, characteristics of professional voice, possibilities of phonosurgical improvement of the phonatory function of the larynx, phoniatrics and audiological problems during childhood, transformation, research and diagnostic-therapeutic fundamentals in cooperation between a speech therapist and phoniatrician, and vertigo.

The Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing was well represented at that scientific event. Prof. Henryk Skarżyński, MD, Ph.D. dr h.c. multi gave the opening lecture entitled “Communication health as the basis of the development of modern societies of the world” and the lecture entitled “What, when, and how to implant in the least invasive way?”. Prof. Piotr H. Skarżyński, MD, Ph.D. presented an invited lecture entitled “Unilateral deafness – what we can offer” and another one entitled “Intraoperative hearing evaluation in partial deafness”.

Our representatives moderated the following sessions:

• Piotr H. Skarżyński, MD, Ph.D.: Session 1 “Invited Lectures”;
• Henryk Skarżyński, MD, Ph.D., dr. h.c. multi and Prof. Krzysztof Kochanek, Ph.D.: Session 2 “Milestones in the development of the hearing implants program” and Session 14 “Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing’s Panel: Development prospects in audiology”;
• Prof. Beata Miaśkiewicz, MD, Ph.D. (with Prof. Magdalena Józefowicz-Korczyńska, MD, Ph.D.): Session 12 “Audiology and phoniatrics in free reports”;
• Danuta Raj-Koziak, MD, Ph.D. (with Piotr Pietkiewicz, MD, Ph.D.): Session 13 “Audiology and phoniatrics in free reports”

Over 20 representatives of the Institute also took part in 7 sessions and gave the following lectures:

• Krzysztof Kochanek, Ph.D.: “Early diagnostics of hearing disorders”,
• Elżbieta Włodarczyk, MD, Ph.D.: “Guidelines for the hearing implants qualification process”,
• Monika Matusiak, MD, Ph.D.: “Predictive factors of treatment effects of the cochlear implant program for young children”,
• Katarzyna Cywka, MD, Ph.D.: “Middle ear implants”; “Hearing prosthesis options for people with outer ear defects”,
• Artur Lorens, Ph.D.: “Methods of adjusting implant processor in a changing hearing”,
• Danuta Raj-Koziak, MD, Ph.D.: “Neurostimulation methods in tinnitus therapy”,
• Beata Miaśkiewicz, MD, Ph.D.: “Contemporary methods of surgical treatment of voice disorders among voice professionals”.

The following co-authored works were also presented:

• “Use of mobile apps for hearing self-examination among seniors”: Małgorzata Pastucha, MSc, Prof. Wiesław W. Jędrzejczak, Ph.D., Prof. Krzysztof Kochanek, Elżbieta Gos, Ph.D., Prof. Henryk Skarżyński, MD, Ph.D., dr. h.c. multi,
• “Current trends in the development of mobile applications in tinnitus diagnosis and therapy”: Izabela Sarnicka, MSc, Karina Karendys-Łuszcz, MSc, Małgorzata Fludra, MD, Ph.D., Prof. Danuta Raj-Koziak, MD, Ph.D., Prof. dr hab. Henryk Skarżyński,
• “Coherence and flexibility of family systems and the decision on a second cochlear implant in the face of unilaterally implanted children with prelingual deafness “: Joanna Kobosko, Ph.D., Dorota B. Porembska, Ph.D., Małgorzata Ganc, MSc, Wiesław W. Jędrzejczak, Ph.D., Prof. Henryk Skarżyński, MD, Ph.D., dr. h.c. multi,
• “Assessment of speech development in children with concurrent deafness”: Dorota Pastuszak, MSc, Anita Obrycka, Ph.D., Prof. Elżbieta Włodarczyk, MD, Ph.D., Prof. Piotr H. Skarżyński, MD, Ph.D., MSc,
• “Perception of social support by adults with postlingual hearing loss admitting to a cochlear implant surgery”: Anita Obrycka, Ph.D., Justyna Witkowska, MSc, Prof. Artur Lorens, Ph.D., Małgorzata Fludra, Ph.D., Prof. Piotr H. Skarżyński, MD, Ph.D., MSc, Prof. Henryk Skarżyński, MD, Ph.D., dr. h.c. multi,
• “Model of phoniatric care of a patient with laryngeal dystonia”: Paulina Krasnodębska, MD, Ph.D., Prof. Beata Miaśkiewicz, MD, Ph.D., Prof. Agata Szkiełkowska, MD, Ph.D.,
• “Evaluation of the reproducibility of TEOAE and DEOAE test results when the probe is placed in the ear by an inexperienced person”: Angelika Gozdal MSc, Prof. Wiesław W. Jędrzejczak, Ph.D., Małgorzata Pastucha, MSc, Prof. Krzysztof Kochanek, Ph.D.

More than 250 people attended the Conference, which served as a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the 2nd Department of Otolaryngology of the Faculty of Medicine of the Medical University of Lodz.