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Updated: Oct 28, 2026
CO2-Lasertonsillotomy Under Local Anesthesia in Adults
Published on: November 6, 2019
Impact of tonsillar hypertrophy and tonsillectomy on eustachian tube function in adults
Estefanía Miranda1,2, Mayte Herrera3,4, Cristina García-García5
1Otorhinolaryngology Department, Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain. estefania-miranda@hotmail.com.
Purpose:
To evaluate the effect of tonsillectomy on Eustachian tube function in adults with tonsillar hypertrophy.
Methods:
A prospective longitudinal observational study was conducted including 20 adult patients with grade III-IV tonsillar hypertrophy undergoing tonsillectomy. Assessments were conducted preoperatively and at 1 and 6 months postoperatively. Symptoms suggestive of Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) were evaluated using Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7 (ETDQ-7), and objective measures including tubomanometry (TMM). Intragroup comparisons were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods.
Results:
Tonsillectomy was associated with a significant reduction in aural fullness, decreasing from 45% preoperatively to 5% at 1 month and 15% at 6 months (p = 0.0039 and p = 0.0391, respectively). ETDQ-7 scores significantly improved after surgery, declining from 14.90 ± 8.61 to 10.95 ± 6.84 at 1 month and remaining stable at 6 months. Hearing loss did not change significantly. However, Valsalva maneuver performance, tympanometric findings and TMM values remained significantly stable over time.
Conclusions:
Tonsillectomy was associated with significant improvement in subjective symptoms of ETD, particularly aural fullness and ETDQ-7 scores, while objective measures showed limited changes. These findings suggest a potential symptomatic benefit of tonsillectomy in selected patients, although objective functional improvement remains uncertain.
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