FP02-1. TRAUMATIC LESIONS OF THE OSSICULAR CHAIN

Sertac Yetiser, Hakan Birkent, Yusuf Hidir, Mustafa Tasar (Gulhane Medical School, Turkey)

Objectives: Ossicular injury is seen in patients with head trauma. Conductive hearing loss is much common in patients with longitudinal temporal bone fracture. Separation of the ossicular joint is much more common than the fractures. Analysis of the relation between the type of trauma and hearing loss, exploration and observation of the middle ear, hearing gain after ossicular reconstruction has to be illuminated in patients with traumatic hearing loss.

Method: Charts of 29 patients with exploration of the middle ear due to traumatic conductive hearing loss between 1994-2005 were retrospectively analysed. Type of trauma, ossicular problem, level of hearing loss, surgery for ossicular reconstruction, hearing gain during follow-up were reviewed.

Results: Patients were all male with a mean age of 24 (13-41). 16 had right sided, 13 had left sided hearing loss. Traffic accident was the common cause of injury. Only 7 patients had associated temporal bone fracture. Most common type of ossicular problem was incudostapedial joint dislocation. Average preoperative ari-bone gap was 38.8±12 dB and postoperative air-bone gap was 15.8±9 dB. 21 patients (84%) with ossicular reconstruction had less than 10 dB air-bone gap closure.

Conclusion: Middle ear exploration of patients with traumatic hearing loss presents promising results regardless of type of surgery and regardless of the time delay after surgery.

* Contact person email: syetiser@yahoo.com