Chorda Tympani in Chronic Inflammatory Middle Ear Disease

Abstract

Objective To study the effect of chronic inflammatory middle ear disease on gustatory function of chorda tympani nerve. Methods A prospective study was performed in 2007 on 85 patients of unilateral chronic inflammatory middle ear disease of both cholesteatomatous and noncholesteatomatous type. Gustatory assessment on both sides of the tongue was performed using dry taste strips. Taste strips were made of filter paper soaked in four different taste solutions of four different concentrations each and dried. The taste score is the number of correctly identified taste strips. Results were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and t-test. Results Comparison of mean taste scores on the side of diseased ear with normal ear was done. On the diseased side, the mean taste score was 9.16 and on the normal side, the mean taste score was 13.24. The difference between the two was found to be statistically significant (p<0.0001). The results were also analyzed for various other parameters like type, duration, and location of disease. Site of cholesteatoma was found to have a significant effect on the taste score of the diseased side. Patients having postero-superior retraction pocket cholesteatoma had significantly lower taste scores as compared to those having cholesteatoma at other sites (p=0.008). Conclusions A patient of chronic inflammatory middle ear disease already has dysfunctional chorda tympani and is unlikely to notice a change in the taste sensation in the event of cutting of the nerve during the course of an ear surgery.