1987 Volume 80 Issue 11 Pages 1683-1689
Secretory otitis media occurs most frequently in infancy. Since the Eustachian tube functions differently in children and adults, it is considered unlikely that secretory otitis media in the two age groups is due to the same cause. Since the infantile Eustachian tube is a kind of pressure open type, we preffered high-pressure therapy in the treatment of secretory otitis media in children.
We used high-pressure therapy for 111 children aged 3 to 12 years 188 ears) with secretory otitis media. As a result, 129 ears(68.6%)showed improved average hearing levels within 10 dB in the low, medium, and high tone ranges. No patient experienced earache or other trouble when exposed to high-pressures. In the highpressure therapy, air escapes through the Eustachian tube when the middle ear pressure is regulated. In this case, the fluid can be excreted together with the air. Since the partial pressure of oxgen rises with the pressure, it is estimated that the highpressure therapy favorably affects ciliary movement and restores the mucous menbranes in the tympanic cavity and the Eustachian tube.
