Assessment of hearing in patients undergoing tympanoplasty with and without cortical mastoidectomy for chronic otitis media: A hospital-based, randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Aims: To assess hearing in patients undergoing tympanoplasty with and without cortical mastoidectomy for chronic otitis media. Settings and Design: A hospital-based, randomized controlled study. Subjects and Methods: The study included sixty patients. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups of thirty each. In Group 1, patients underwent tympanoplasty alone. In Group 2, patients underwent tympanoplasty with cortical mastoidectomy. Hearing assessment was done by pure tone audiometry. Follow-up period was 3 months. Statistical Analysis Used: Paired and unpaired t-tests were used for quantitative variables and Chi-square test was used for qualitative ones. P Results: The mean pre- and post-operative pure-tone average was 42.4 ± 10.53 dB and 32.8 ± 13.02 dB in Group 1, with a mean hearing gain of 9.5 ± 11.33 dB. The mean pre- and post-operative pure-tone average was 42 ± 10.43 dB and 34.9 ± 9.94 dB in Group 2, with a mean hearing gain of 7.1 ± 8.85 dB. The mean pre- and post-operative air-bone gap was 37.27 ± 9.51 dB and 24.21 ± 11.64 dB in Group 1, with improvement in air-bone gap of 13.07 ± 12.93 dB. The mean pre- and post-operative air-bone gap was 32.27 ± 11.53 dB and 23.75 ± 9.91 dB in Group 2, with improvement in air-bone gap of 8.52 ± 9.13 dB. No statistically significant difference was seen between the two groups. Conclusions: Combining cortical mastoidectomy with tympanoplasty in the patients of chronic otitis media, mucosal disease, offers no additional benefit in terms of hearing improvement compared to tympanoplasty alone.