EFFECTS OF AGING ON HEARING RESULTS IN TYMPANOPLASTY

The effects of aging on the preoperative and postoperative hearing res ults of tympanoplasty were assessed in 642 patients with chronic suppu rative otitis media (COM) or cholesteatoma (CHL). Analysis focused on the correlation between hearing results and age for each disease and t ype of tympanoplasty. Data were evaluated by calculating the regressio n line, mainly using second order polynomial regression analysis. Aver aged air and bone conduction thresholds (PTA) in patients were appreci ably poorer in younger patients and increased with age, compared with physiological hearing impairment in old age (presbyacusis). Regression lines for PTA of air and bone conduction in patients and for normal d ata (air conduction), separated from each other after the age of 30 an d hearing impairment gradually accelerated with age. Means of air-bone gap, however, were almost the same in each age group, though hearing thresholds in individual patients were distributed widely. This was mo re dominant in patients who had undergone type III or IV tympanoplasty than those with type I tympanoplasty, and in patients with COM than w ith CHL. Labyrinthine function thus appears to be gradually aggravated with age in patients with chronic inflammatory ear disease. Patients with chronic otitis media should be thus recommended to undergo tympan oplasty at an early age.