Effect of Type 1 Tympanoplasty on the Quality of Life of CSOM Patients

Abstract

Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) continues to be an important public health problem despite significant advances in medical science. Ear discharge, pain, discomfort, difficulty in hearing, limitation of routine activities and emotional problems due to CSOM cause a significant impact on the health and general well being of the patient. We have done Type 1 tympanoplasty in tubotympanic type of COM to reconstruct the tympanic membrane and alleviate the symptoms of the patients. This study presents an analysis of the impact of the surgery on the patient subjectively and its correlation with objective outcomes. 45 patients were selected to fill the chronic otitis media-5 (COM-5) questionnaire and underwent pure tone audiometry preoperatively. All the patients underwent Type 1 tympanoplasty by using temporalis fascia graft. The status of the ossicles was checked and documented intraoperatively. Patients requiring ossicular reconstruction or with attico antral disease were excluded. Patients were followed up for a period of 6 months and those with an intact graft after 6 months were included in the study. These patients were again made to fill the questionnaire and undergo pure tone audiometry postoperatively. 37 out of 45 patients (82 %) had an intact graft 6 months after surgery. Marked improvement was observed in subjective scores as documented by the questionnaire, pre- and postoperatively with the mean improvement in total scores being 7.89 ± 4.81 on a Visual Analogue Scale. Also significant improvement was achieved in closure of air-bone gap with the mean improvement being 14.73 ± 8.58 dB. Significant correlation was found between subjective and objective scores in most patients. This study showed that Type 1 tympanoplasty brings about a significant improvement in the quality of life of chronic suppurative otitis media patients. Most patients showed a marked improvement in subjective scores which correlated well with the objective findings of the status of the graft and improvement in air-bone gap. Asymptomatic patients with less preoperative scores showed less improvement in subjective scores which did not correlate with the objective outcomes.