[Dementia and otorhinolaryngologic practice].

The interaction between sensorial registration of peripheral stimuli and their central cognitive processing is not yet understood. The role of sensory deficits such as olfactory deterioration or hearing loss in the development of dementia is currently a focus of concern, with hopes of finding new diagnostic aspects and therapeutic options for multimodal treatment concepts in patients with dementia. The expertise of ENT specialists in the diagnostic and therapeutic fields of dysphagia, vestibular dysfunction and olfactory or hearing loss could make an important contribution to the development of future strategies for dealing with dementia. In this report we present up-to-date basic knowledge and ENT-specific aspects relating to the diagnostics and treatment of dementia.