Sensorineural Hearing Loss After Surgery to Treat Chronic Otitis Media

Abstract

Objective: We investigated the incidence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) after chronic otitis media (COM) surgery and determined the associated factors. Methods: Data were collected via retrospective medical chart review. Results: Of the 192 patients, 82 underwent tympanoplasty, 26 underwent canal wall up mastoidectomy with tympanoplasty, and 84 underwent canal wall down mastoidectomy with tympanoplasty. After surgery, the average air conduction (AC) hearing threshold improved significantly, from 125 to 1000 Hz, but the average high-frequency AC and bone conduction (BC) hearing thresholds deteriorated significantly. In 21 (11%) cases, the BC hearing threshold worsened by more than 15 dB at 4000 Hz. When we compared these 21 cases to patients in whom hearing was preserved, the former group was found to be significantly younger and had a higher frequency of cholesteatomatous otitis media. However, when comparing the severity of inflammation in patients with temporal bone computed tomography, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups. Conclusions: High-frequency SNHL may develop after surgery to treat COM, especially in young patients with cholesteatoma.