Der innenohrabfall nach stapedektomie

Surgery of otosclerosis in the elderly

Auditory results following stapes surgery in 26 patients with otosclerosis >60 years of age at the time of surgery were compared with those obtained in 140 patients <60 years undergoing stapes surgery during the same time period. Stapedotomy was performed in all cases. The mean follow-up period was 29 months. Hearing results as judged by postoperative air-bone gaps were as good in the older age group as in the younger patients. Moreover, complications of surgery, such as postoperative formation of perilymphatic fistula, did not occur more frequently in elderly vs younger patients. On the basis of the results obtained, it is concluded that stapes surgery should be offered to elderly patients with the same indications as younger patients with otosclerosis.

Conductive hearing loss evaluated by brief tone audiometry

Bone-conduction measurements are inaccurate and often troubled by masking problems. Determination of the temporal integration of acoustic energy by Brief Tone Audiometry permits an estimate of the cochlear threshold. In 71 patients with middle ear pathology, the conductive impairment was measured using both conventional audiometry and Brief Tone Audiometry. In 85% of the patients, the estimates coincided within 15 dB. Results from pre- and post-operative measurements are given, and it is demonstrated that Brief Tone Audiometry can be used as an alternative to bone-conduction audiometry to determine the degree of conductive loss with the same accuracy, but without the latter's limitations.