Cytomegalovirus (CMV) usually causes subclinical infection in childhood, with the infection remaining asymptomatic throughout life. However, under certain circumstances, such as primary infection or virus reactivation due to an immunocompromised state during pregnancy, congenital CMV infection could be transmitted via the transplacental route. It is estimated that each year, about 3,000 newborns are diagnosed with congenital CMV infection in Japan. Herein, we report a case of delayed-onset sensorineural hearing loss caused by congenital CMV infection. Our patient was a two-year and 9 months old girl who showed no response to verbal stimuli. She had passed the neonatal hearing screening examination at birth and had shown normal speech development until entering kindergarten. As there were no other clinical manifestations, we were unable to identify the cause of the hearing loss. Then, PCR analysis was performed to detect CMV-DNA in her dry-preserved umbilical cord tissue, and a positive test for the viral DNA established the diagnosis of congenital CMV infection. Although in recent years, the seroprevalence rate of anti-CMV antibody has tended to decrease, in particular, in women of childbearing age, this case serves to underscore the importance of including congenital CMV infection in the differential diagnosis in cases presenting with childhood-onset hearing loss.

　Ameloblastoma is the most commonly occurring benign odontogenic tumor. It frequently occurs in the mandible, but is rather rare in the maxilla. Herein, we report a case of cystic ameloblastoma of the maxillary sinus.

　The patient was a 61-year-old man who presented with the chief complaint of swelling of the face, over the right malar region. Clinical examination, including imaging examinations, performed at a neighborhood clinic revealed a huge cystic lesion in the right maxillary sinus, with thinning of the maxillary bone. He was then referred to our hospital. We performed endoscopic endonasal sinus surgery (ESS) for diagnosis and treatment. We removed the major part of the cystic lesion without the bottom part, but failed to successfully resect the base of the tumor. Because if we removed this part, the right maxillary sinus went through with the oral cavity, as its removal would have created a communication between the right maxillary sinus and the nasal cavity. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen revealed the diagnosis of ameloblastoma. At a later date, we performed right partial maxillectomy as additional treatment. The postoperative course was uneventful and there has been no evidence of recurrence until date.

　 Ameloblastoma is, in general, a benign locally invasive tumor, but it can metastasize to other organs or show malignant transformation. In addition, it shows a high likelihood of recurrence after surgery. Ameloblastoma frequently arises from the mandible, but is rare in the maxilla.

　Patients with maxillary ameloblastoma are likely to initially visit the Department of Otolaryngology with symptoms such as swelling of the malar region. Therefore, otorhinolaryngologists must bear in mind the possibility of this condition when examining patients presenting to them with the aforementioned symptoms.

　Patients with ingested foreign bodies lodged in the pharynx are frequently seen at the department of otorhinolaryngology in hospitals. In Japan, fish bones represent the most common example of such foreign bodies. Some of fish bones are expelled naturally, but sometimes it is difficult to locate and remove these foreign bodies. We encountered 54 cases of ingested fish bones lodged in the pharynx during the three-year period from May 2011 to April 2014 at Toho University Ohashi Medical Center. The patients were predominantly in their 40s, and among the patients in their 30s and 50s, the number of females was slightly higher. In most cases, the fish bones were located and removed perorally or by laryngoscopy. However, the foreign body could not be located by laryngoscopy in three cases, and by either laryngoscopy or CT in one case; in the latter case, the fish bone was expelled perorally in a few days. We examined the optimal CT imaging conditions for the detection of the fish bone and found that some short or thin foreign bodies may fail to be identified by under usual CT. Thus, patients with suspected fish-bone impaction in the pharynx should be followed up carefully. Repeat CT scans may be useful for the detection of foreign bodies or inflammation/abscess formation in the region.