Assessment of Preoperative and Postoperative Hearing Following Type 1 Tympanoplasty: A Retrospective Study

Background: Chronic otitis media is worldly prevalent disease with otorrhoea, hearing loss, otalgia causing psychological trauma and financial burden to the society. In an attempt to overcome this menace, various techniques of Tympanoplasty have evolved out and from time to time improvisation was done based mainly in terms of hearing improvement and disease free ear.

Objective: To assess the preoperative and postoperative assessment of hearing following type 1 tympanoplasty.
Methods: A retrospective study involving all patients who underwent type I tympanoplasty in ENT department, Abdul Malek Ukil Medical College Hospital, Noakhali, Bangladesh for perforation of the tympanic membrane during the period June 2022 to December 2023. Only 50 patients are included in the present study. All the patients who presented with com were submitted to an assessment protocol, history taking, specific physical examination (otoscopy and rhinoscopy), audiogram, examination under microscope to confirm otoscopic findings.

Results: Total 50 cases included our study. Majority of cases (54%) were between 21-30 years. Females 27 (54%) are more as compared to male 23 (46%), patients in the present study. Out of the 50 patients, 22 (44%) patients had disease in the right ear, 28 (56%) had disease in left ear. 38 (76%) patients had unilateral & 12 patients (24%) had bilateral disease. Out of the seven patients with bilateral disease, the ear with more hearing loss was operated on first. Large perforation is seen in 26% of patients and posterior central perforation in 24%. Preoperative hearing threshold of half of the patients (50%) lies in range 35-39 Db, whereas in 22 patients (44%) hearing threshold lies in 30-34 Db range and only 3 (6%) patients have hearing threshold in 40-44 Db range. The commonest presenting complaint is ear discharge. Hearing loss seen in only 30 (60%) patients. Tinnitus is found in 2 (4%), pain in the ear in 18 (36%) and vertigo in 0% of patients.

Conclusion: Intermittent otorrhoea was the most common and hearing loss was seen only in 60% of the patients as presenting complaint in chronic otitis media in our study. There was no significant predilection for gender. Hearing improvement was assessed by improvement in ab gap in this study and was significant after type 1 tympanoplasty.

Keywords: Preoperative, Postoperative, Type 1 Tympanoplasty.