Relationship Between Bone Conduction Thresholds and Hearing Results After ear Surgery

Objective: The authors investigated the link between an increase in perceptive hearing loss and the effectiveness of tympanoplasty operations Materials and methods: A prospective analysis of patients operated on for the first time for management of chronic otitis media was performed. A total of 147 patients operated on between 2004 and 2007 met the criteria. Results: The study population was divided into three groups according to their preoperative bone conduction thresholds (averages of 500 Hz, 1 000 Hz and 2 000 Hz). A considerable improvement in hearing quality was observed as early as 6 months after surgery in the group with normal bone conduction. An improvement was also observed for patients with bone conduction values oscillating between 21 and 40 dB, though only after longer periods of observation (12 months). Increased perceptive hearing loss (>40 dB) coincided with the absence of considerable hearing improvement after otosurgery. Conclusion: Severe perceptive hearing loss is an unfavourable prognostic factor for hearing improvement in patients with chronic otitis media undergoing otosurgery.