Publication:

Comparative assessment of hearing in various tympanic membrane perforations in patients at Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat, India: a cross sectional study

Background The objective of the present study was to correlate the size and site of perforation with hearing loss in chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM).

Methods The cross sectional study was conducted among a purposive sample of first 100 consecutive patients of unilateral inactive mucosal CSOM, who underwent myringoplasty at Department of otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Science, Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat. One hundred consecutive patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included in the study. In all the patients, a detailed history and a thorough ENT examination was followed by hearing assessment and measurement of the size of the perforation.

Results Infection was the most common etiology of tympanic membrane perforation in 92 (92%) cases and trauma in 08 (08%) with otorrhea as the most common presenting complaint. Half of the cases were in the age group of 20–30 years. Seventy-nine percentage cases had mild hearing loss whereas 19% had moderate hearing loss. Anterior quadrant perforations on an average had 31.4 dB hearing loss, whereas there was 43.9 dB average hearing loss in posterior quadrant perforations.

Conclusions It was observed that there is direct relationship between size and site of perforation and loss of hearing. There was less hearing loss in small sized perforations. Posterior quadrant perforations and malleolar perforations (MLs) had a greater hearing loss than anterior, multiple quadrant, or non‑MLs.