1993 Volume 1993 Issue Supplement61 Pages 38-41
Hearing loss in patients with otitis media with effusion is generally conductive and cases of sensorineural hearing loss is said to be relatively rare. Details of sensorineural hearing loss remain unclear. In this study, the incidence of sensorineural hearing loss in patients with otitis media with effusion was investigated and the cause of the disease was studied. Subjects were 421 patients with otitis media with effusion who visited the outpatient clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Komatsushima Red Cross Hospital between April 1 and November 21,1987.
Patients with otitis media with e ffusion accompanied by sensorineural hearing loss were classified into two groups: one group in which hearing by bone conduction was slightly reduced (the moderate hearing group) and the other group in which hearing by bone conduction was markedly reduced (the low hearing group). The moderate hearing group included 21 patients (5.0%). However, the low hearing group included 16 patients (3.8%), and in 7of these (1.7%) hearing loss was considered closely related to otitis media with effusion.
All patients in the moderate hearing group were cured by treatments suc h as myringotomy. Improvement of symptoms was also observed to some extent by patients in the low hearing group. Early treatment was considered important when otitis media with effusion accompanied by sensorineural hearing loss is found.
