Contralateral Ear in Patients with Chronic Otitis Media.

To evaluate the opposite ear in patients operated for chronic otitis media (COM). In a cross-sectional study involving three tertiary hospitals, patients who underwent surgery for COM were examined for abnormalities of the contralateral ear at the time of the surgery. Out of 228 patients, 182 (79.8%) were operated on for non-cholesteatomatous or simple chronic pars tensa perforation of the tympanic membrane (PTP), and 46 (20.2%) for cholesteatoma. 113 (49.56%) patients had normal contralateral ears under oto-microscopic exam. PTP was statistically more prevalent in females than males (F/M:118/64), whereas cholesteatoma was more prevalent in males (21/25). In the PTP group, 82 (45.3%) had normal contralateral ears, whereas patients with cholesteatoma had 31 (67.4%) normal opposite ears ( = 0.01). The most frequent abnormal findings in the PTP group were pars tensa perforation and sclerotic plaques, and in the cholesteatoma group were cholesteatoma and pars tensa perforation. Patients with cholesteatoma had significantly lower contralateral ear perforation than patients with tympanic membrane perforation ( = 0.02). The most frequent size of eardrum perforation in the contralateral ear of the PTP group was more than 50 percent. No significant difference existed between the large and small perforations for contralateral abnormality. Bilateral pathophysiology seems to be more prominent in PTPs than in cholesteatomas. Tympanic membrane perforation tends to be accompanied by a large perforation. The larger perforation on one side did not predict having more problems on the opposite side.