Apw. Yuen et al., Correlation of pure tone audiogram results and hearing benefit of tympanoplasty for chronic suppurative otitis media, ANN OTOL RH, 109(4), 2000, pp. 381-384
The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between pure tone aud
iogram results and the subjective sensation of hearing benefit of patients
who had tympanoplasty for chronic suppurative otitis media. This is a prosp
ective study of 115 patients who had tympanoplasty between 1992 and 1994. T
he outcome, including a pure tone audiogram and the subjective sensation of
hearing benefit, was evaluated at 1 year after operation. There were 63 (5
5%) patients with subjective hearing benefit after the tympanoplasty. The s
ubjective sensation of hearing benefit correlated with the magnitude of the
air conduction (AC) threshold reduction, and increased from 39% for an AC
reduction of less than or equal to 10 dB to 100% for an AC reduction of mor
e than 30 dB. The effect of the interaural AC threshold difference on the s
ubjective sensation of hearing was not significant; improvement was felt by
92% of patients when the operated ear became the better hearing ear, and b
y 73% of patients when the operated ear remained the worse hearing ear. The
re was considerable discrepancy between the subjective hearing benefit and
the pure tone audiogram results. A combination of parameters, including the
air-bone gap, the AC threshold, and the subjective hearing change, is reco
mmended in reporting the results of tympanoplasty.