DOES CHRONIC OTITIS-MEDIA CAUSE SENSORINEURAL HEARING-LOSS

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether chronic middle ear infection is associated with sensorineural hearing loss. Me thod: Audiometric data from 123 patients with unilateral chronic otiti s media were compared using the non-involved ear as a control. The ave rage bone threshold at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz, the speech reception th reshold, and the extent of the disease was compared using the t-test, linear regression, and MANOVA techniques. Results: A highly significan t association was found between the presence of chronic otitis media a nd sensorineural hearing loss. The great variability in our data imply that some individuals are particularly susceptible to chronic otitis media. We offer one suggestion as to why this may occur. Conclusion: S ensorineural hearing loss is associated with chronic ear infection wit h some persons being particularly vulnerable.