Comparative Evaluation of Hearing in Different Tympanic Membrane Perforations

Abstract

Objective: To correlate the size and site of perforation with hearing loss in chronic suppurative otitis media. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional prospective study was carried out in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Western Uttar Pradesh. 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.