Is There an Association Between The Characteristics of The Tympanic Membrane Perforations And The Severity of The Hearing Loss?

Abstract

Chronic otitis media is a chronic inflammation of the middle ear, with or without the presence of a perforation. It is an avoidable cause of hearing loss, especially in developing countries. It is mostly responsible of a conductive deafness and can also cause mixed and neurosensory deafness.
The aim of our study is to compare the severity of the hearing loss with the different otoscopic findings, and find a possible association between the size and the site of the tympanic membrane perforation and the level of the hearing loss.
pure tone audiometry, the mean hearing threshold was 44.05 dB (± 15.57[ 11.25- 87.50dB]) and the mean air bone gap was 24.99 dB (±8.21[6.25-47.50 dB]). the mean difference in each frequency depending on the tympanic membrane perforation showed a statistically significant difference between the subgroups. the ABG as per the tympanic membrane perforation size, the mean ABG for perforation ≤25% was 23.46 dB versus 25.41 dB for peroration size between 25% and 50% and 28.07 dB for perforation sizes >50%.The difference between the subgroups was statistically significant (p=0.004). Otologists should be aware of the association between the size and the site of the tympanic membrane perforations.