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Taste function in elderly patients with unilateral middle ear disease
Tomonori Terada1, Mieko Sone, Kojiro Tsuji
1Department of Otolaryngology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan.
Acta Oto-Laryngologica. Supplementum
|July 28, 2004
Summary
Elderly patients show age-related taste decline, similar to their healthy sides, even after middle ear surgery. The chorda tympani nerve requires less attention in older patients undergoing these procedures.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Geriatric Medicine
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Age-related decline in taste function is a known phenomenon.
- The impact of middle ear surgery on taste function in elderly patients remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate taste function changes in elderly patients undergoing middle ear surgery.
- To compare taste function in elderly versus younger/middle-aged patients.
Main Methods:
- Electrogustometry was used to assess chorda tympani nerve taste function.
- 79 patients aged over 60 were studied before and after surgery.
- Findings were compared to 228 younger and middle-aged patients.
Main Results:
- Taste thresholds on the normal side significantly increased with age (p<0.0001).
- Higher age correlated with increased taste thresholds on the diseased side in chronic otitis media and cholesteatoma patients.
- Postoperative taste thresholds in elderly chronic otitis media patients were higher than in younger patients.
Conclusions:
- Taste function of the chorda tympani nerve deteriorates with age, affecting both normal and diseased sides.
- Surgical attention to the chorda tympani nerve may be less critical in elderly patients compared to younger individuals.