Abstract
The incus is disarticulated and temporarily removed in order to decompress the entire facial nerve from the geniculate ganglion to the stylomastoid foramen. Auditory disturbance by incus disarticulation is anticipated. In 36 patients who underwent transmastoid decompression of the facial nerve and were observed more than 6 months, auditory disturbance following surgery was investigated by the evaluation of hearing loss and tinnitus before and after surgery.
Hearing loss of more than 15dB at more than one frequency after surgery was observed in 20 of the 36 patients (55.6%). However, in only 3 cases (8.3%) was there a hearing loss of more than 15dB in the speech range (0.5-2KHz). In 15 cases (41.7%) there was post-operative sensorineural hearing loss limited to 4 and/or 8 KHz. Five of the 20 patients (13.9%) who suffered postoperative hearing loss had conductive hearing loss. Seven of the 36 patients (19.4%) had tinnitus following surgery.
