Relationship Between Eustachian Tube Function and Tinnitus after TypeⅠ Tympanoplasty for Chronic Otitis Media at Different Ages

LI Xingcheng; XU Jing

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1672-2922.2025.02.003

Abstract：Objective To determine the relationship between eustachian tube function and tinnitus after type Ⅰ tympanoplasty for chronic otitis media(COM)at different ages.Methods A total of 150 patients who underwent tympanoplasty for COM in the Department of Otology,First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University,from January 2021 to December 2023 were retrospectively selected divided into three groups based on age,and subgroups based on complaints of tinnitus before surgery.Clinical data,seven-item Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire(ETDQ-7)scores and hearing levels before and 1 week,3 months and 6 months after surgery were compared.Clinical outcomes and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory(THI)results were also analyzed.Multivariate Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for tinnitus,as wellas the relationship between ETDQ-7 score and tinnitus.Results Postoperative ETDQ-7 scores and hearing levels were higher in all groups compared to before surgery(P＜0.05).At 1 week,3 months and 6 months after surgery,the ETDQ-7 score in group C was higher than that in groups A and B(P＜0.05).Gender,age,ETDQ-7 score,disease course,air conduction threshold and air bone gap demonstrated statistically significant differences between patients with tinnitus and those without(P＜0.05).At 1 week after surgery,the rates of complete resolution was 60.00%,25.00%and 17.65%for groups A,B and C,respectively,(P＜0.05).The difference among the groups disappeared at 3 and 6 months after surgery(P＞0.05).The THI score in patients with tinnitus decreased significantly after operation.Age,ETDQ-7 score,air conduction threshold and air bone gap were risk factors for tinnitus.Tubal function was correlated with preoperative tinnitus(P＜0.05),which was an independent factor(OR=1.95,95%CI:1.86～2.05,P＜0.01).Conclusion ETDQ-7 score and hearing level in patients with COM improve after tympanoplasty,regardless of age.Eustachian tube function is independent correlated with preoperative tinnitus,and therefore a risk factor for tinnitus.