[Electrophysiological study of cochlear damage in early otosclerosis and after stapedial surgery]

Otoesclerotic patients usually have neurosensorial hearing toss in addition to a predominantly conductive impairment, but there is no universally accepted explanation for this abnormality. The bone conduction threshold in tonal audiometry is accepted as a test of cochlear function. An early evaluation of damage to the cochlea arid acoustic nerve after surgery was made by studying 99 ears with BERA and latency/intensity curves to test cochlear function. We concluded that early damage was present. Postoperative cochlear damage was found in spite of successful surgery, but it was no greater than the damage present before surgery.