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Risk factors for sensorineural hearing loss in pediatric chronic otitis media
Noam Yehudai1, Tova Most2, Michal Luntz1
1Ear and Hearing Program, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Bnai-Zion Medical Center, Technion-Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.
Insights
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a complication of chronic otitis media (COM) in children. Early treatment of COM is crucial to prevent SNHL development.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Pediatric Audiology
Background:
- Chronic otitis media (COM) is a common pediatric condition.
- COM can lead to conductive hearing loss, but sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is also a potential complication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the clinical significance of SNHL in pediatric patients with unilateral COM.
- To identify risk factors for SNHL development in these patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of 124 pediatric patients with unilateral COM undergoing surgery.
- Preoperative bone conduction pure-tone average (BC-PTA) measured in diseased and healthy ears.
- Risk factors analyzed: demographics, disease duration, cholesteatoma presence, otologic history.
Main Results:
- Diseased ears showed significantly higher mean BC-PTA values than healthy ears (P<0.01).
- SNHL at 2000Hz correlated with cholesteatoma presence and age over 10 years.
Conclusions:
- Clinically significant SNHL is a complication of COM, with or without cholesteatoma.
- Active management of pediatric COM is essential to prevent SNHL.
Objectives:
To assess the clinical significance of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in a group of pediatric patients suffering from unilateral chronic otitis media (COM) with or without cholesteatoma, using the contralateral healthy ear as a control, and to define risk factors for the development of SNHL in such patients.
Methods:
The subjects of this retrospective study were 124 pediatric patients with unilateral COM admitted for surgery. Mean age at surgery was 13.3±3.2 years (range, 7-18) and mean duration of the disease was 88.4±45.0 months (range, 6-192 months). The preoperative pure-tone average value (PTA) for bone conduction (BC) was calculated in each ear (BC-PTA) as the average of BC thresholds at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000Hz. Potential risk factors for SNHL that we evaluated were demographics, duration of disease, presence of cholesteatoma, and previous otologic history.
Results:
Mean BC-PTA values in the diseased ears prior to surgery differed significantly from those in the healthy ears (12.74±8.75dB and 9.36±6.33dB, respectively; P<0.01). The degree of SNHL in the diseased ear at 2000Hz was found to be significantly correlated with the presence of cholesteatoma and with age above 10 years.
Conclusions:
One of the complications of COM, with or without cholesteatoma, in addition to the conductive hearing loss, is the development of clinically significant SNHL. It is therefore imperative to actively treat pediatric patients diagnosed with COM, with the aim of preventing the possible development of SNHL.
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