Comparative Study of Hearing Results in Various Types of Tympanoplasties.

BACKGROUND

This study mainly focus on hearing loss pattern in CSOM patients undergoing tympanoplasty surgery or tympanomastoidectomy pre-operatively and analysis of the outcome of the surgery in terms of improvement in hearing (air-bone gap) after 3 months of the surgery.

METHODOLOGY

All patients of age 15-65 years reporting to ENT OPD with ear discharge and decreased hearing were screened with detailed history, clinical examination and microscopic examination.110 cases of tympanic membrane perforation who were fit for surgery were advised tympanoplasty or tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy.

RESULTS

Our study shows that postoperative air-bone gap closure is maximum for cortical mastoidectomy type I tympanoplasty (14.03 dB), followed with cortical mastoidectomy with type II (12.2 dB), Type I tympanoplasty (11 dB), cortical mastoidectomy with type III (7.72 dB). Procedures combined with modified radical mastoidectomy showed a very poor mean improvement in our study.

CONCLUSION

It is very difficult to predict the results preoperatively because outcome will depend on extent of involvement of middle ear cleft by the disease process which can only be assessed intraoperatively.