Relationship between short-term and mid-term hearing outcomes after stapedotomy in patients with otosclerosis: an investigation.

BACKGROUND

Although stapedotomy is effective for patients with clinical otosclerosis, the time of hearing stabilization has not yet been consistent.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationships between post-operative follow-up times, hearing outcomes, and threshold shift after stapedotomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty-five patients with clinical otosclerosis that underwent stapedotomy were retrospectively studied. Pure tone audiometry tests were conducted within the first month (short-term) and within 1 year (mid-term) postoperatively. Data were analyzed for two rounds of audiometry tests at different postoperative follow-up times.

RESULTS

Air conduction (AC) and bone conduction (BC) were significantly correlated with preoperative hearing levels (<.01). AC, BC, and air bone gap (ABG) significantly improved at the short-term (<.001) and continued to improve at the mid-term (<.01). The success rate of surgery increased from 87% at short-term to 98% at mid-term. Less than 1/3 of cases encountered BC deterioration at short-term, whereas most improved at mid-term.

CONCLUSIONS

Hearing results showed a trend of improvement between short-term and mid-term follow-ups after stapedotomy. AC, ABG, and success rate displayed significant improvement several months postoperatively. BC deterioration occurred in less than 30% of patients at short-term. The recovery of BC at 4 kHz was later than that of low frequencies.