Abstract
There are a few reports about the relationship between adult-onset otitis media with effusion (OME) and mastoid pneumatization, however, the results are conflicting. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of mastoid pneumatization on the onset and/or prolongation of adult-onset OME. In this study, 66 patients (88 ears) with adult-onset OME older than 20 years old were included. In regard to the improvement rate by conservative therapy, the improvement rate in the young-age group of patients less than 50 years old tended to be lower than that in the old-age group of patients older than 50 years old. This result indicates that the characteristics of OME might differ between the young-age group and the old-age group. In the young-age group, poorly pneumatized mastoid is a risk factor for the onset and/or prolongation of OME, which suggests that the characteristics of OME in the young-age group are similar to that in children. On the other hand, in the old-age group, poorly pneumatized mastoid is a risk factor, but not prolongation of OME. It is thought that other factors affect the prolongation of OME in the old-age group.
