Abstract

Introduction: Although the incidence and prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) has been decreased in recent decades, but it is still a major health problem in both developing and developed countries. CSOM can cause major and life-threatening complications such as hearing loss, meningitis and cerebral abscess. Since hearing loss is the most common complication of CSOM, we aimed to evaluate audiometric profile in patients with CSOM and its relation with intra-operative pathologic findings Materials and Methods: Between 2008-2010, 80 patients with CSOM subjected to tympanomastoidectomy or tympanoplasty entered this study. The detailed patients' history, physical examination, audiometric evaluations and findings during surgeries were collected. Finally, the associations between data were analyzed. Results: CSOM had higher prevalence among female (67.5), but difference was not statically significant. Speech recognition test and air-bone gap were significantly associated with CSOM (P<0.001). While cholesteatoma and granulation significantly associated with air-bone gap (P=0.044) and speech recognition test (P=0.032), respectively, ossicular defects significantly associative with both of them (P=0.001 and P=0.032, respectively). There was not any association between sclerosis and audiometric parameters. Also presence of the cholesteatoma and ossicular defects associated with size of the tympanic perforation (P=0.001). Conclusion: The preoperative and surgical findings can predict the patients' conductive hearing loss in chronic otitis media, but this relationship is not significant in all variables.