Middle Ear Findings at Exploratory Tympanotomy for Conductive Hearing Loss

BackgroundExploratory tympanotomy helps in detecting the cause of conductive hearing loss with intact tympanic membrane. ObjectiveTo find out any abnormalities of middle ear contributing to conductive hearing loss apart from usual middle ear causes. Methods57 patients with conductive hearing loss with intact drum were evaluated using clinical and audiometric parameters. Intraoperatively, 27 cases with only otosclerosis in the absence of any additional findings were excluded and 30 cases with other middle ear findings were noted. Results Intraoperatively, restricted ossicular mobility was found in 21 patients and ossicular necrosis for 8. Surgery was abandoned for 2 patients with anatomical abnormalities in middle ear. Conclusion The study provides an insight into different causes of conductive hearing loss behind an intact tympanic membrane and few instances where abnormal anatomy of middle ear may interfere with surgical correction of conductive hearing loss.