DISTORTION PRODUCT OTOACOUSTIC EMISSIONS AND PURE TONE  AUDIOMETRY, THE EFFECT OF MASTOID DRILLING ON THE  CONTRALATERAL HEALTHY EAR

Authors

mastoid drilling, mastoidectomy, hearing loss, DPOAEs, pure tone audiometry

Background: India has a high prevalence of chronic otitis media (COM), which affects around 5% of people worldwide.

Although mastoidectomies are often essential for treating chronic otitis media, they require drilling, which may impair

hearing in the contralateral ear.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to use distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and pure tone audiometry

to assess the effect of mastoid drilling on the contralateral healthy ear.

Methods: Ninety participants with a healthy contralateral ear and unilateral chronic otitis media were evaluated.

Preoperative, 24-, 72-, and 7-day postoperative audiological evaluations were performed on all participants following

mastoidectomy. The collected data was statistically examined in order to formulate the results.

Results: Mastoid drilling took an average of 53.6±17.4 minutes. The mean hearing threshold at 24 hours was 21.3±3.6

dB higher than the preoperative value, and recovery at day 7 was p<0.001 higher, according to pure tone audiometry.

DPOAE revealed initial cochlear impairment in four participants at day seven (p=0.004) and in twelve subjects at 24

hours. Drilling time and audiological results did not significantly correlate.