Medial canal fibrosis: surgical technique, results, and a proposed grading system.

OBJECTIVE: To report the hearing and surgical results in patients with medial canal fibrosis. To describe the surgical technique for removal of medial canal fibrosis and to propose a classification for grading postoperative surgical outcome and to correlate this with hearing results. SETTING: Tertiary university referral center. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case review. METHODS: Twenty-one patients with mature medial canal fibrosis underwent a total of 26 operations at our institution from February 1994 to June 2003. Four patients underwent surgery for bilateral disease and another had a second operation for recurrence. RESULTS: According to the proposed grading system, 10 (38.5%) of the 29 ears operated on achieved a Grade I result (normal self-cleaning ears) and three (11.5%) had recurrence (Grade III). One patient was found to have external ear canal cholesteatoma. Postoperatively, 15 ears demonstrated closure of the air-bone gap to within 10 dB or improvement on four-frequency average pure-tone audiogram to better than 25 dB. The mean preoperative air-bone gap was 28.7 dB compared with 12.5 dB postoperatively (p < 0.001). When hearing results were correlated with postoperative grade, 90.0% of the ears with a Grade I result had significant hearing improvement, 46.2% in patients with Grade II and 33.3% in patients with Grade III results. Four patients complained of temporomandibular joint pain postoperatively. CONCLUSION: Surgery remains the treatment of choice for mature medial canal fibrosis. With proper surgical technique and meticulous postoperative care, a patent and functioning external ear canal can be achieved in a majority of patients. Absence of recurrence does not equate with improved hearing thresholds.

Benefits of cochlear implantation in early-deafened adults: the Toronto experience.

OBJECTIVE: To present the results of a survey administered to a group of early-deafened cochlear implants adults and to report the level of perceived benefit. DESIGN: Prospective. SETTING: Large tertiary referral centre. METHOD: A 47-item questionnaire designed to evaluate cochlear implant use and benefit was sent to 42 early-deafened adult cochlear implant users. The questionnaire can be divided into seven subcategories: time of use, associated symptoms, communication, employment status and function, socialization, perceived benefit, and the impact on quality of life. Responses from 30 patients were received. RESULTS: The majority of our patients use their cochlear implant all of their waking hours. The majority of patients continue to depend on lip-reading and hearing as their main mode of communication, although they reported improved lip-reading skills with their cochlear implant. Twenty-three patients (76.7%) were employed. Eleven patients had a change in employment subsequent to cochlear implantation, nine (81.8%) of whom attributed this to their cochlear implant. Our patients als reported greater independence, a greater sense of safety in their environment, and an improved social life. Twenty-nine patients (96.7%) said that they were satisfied with their implant, 28 (93.3%) said that they would go through the same process again, and 27 (90%) said that they would recommend it to a friend in a similar situation. Twenty-nine patients (96.7%) stated that the cochlear implant has had a positive effect on their quality of life. Family and peer support, prior auditory-verbal therapy, and a positive attitude were the most commonly cited factors in successful cochlear implant use. CONCLUSIONS: Early-deafened adult cochlear implant users perceive significant benefit from cochlear implantation. Importantly, family and peer support, prior auditory-verbal therapy, and a positive attitude are considered important factors in maximizing this benefit.

Acoustic neuroma surgery: the results of long-term hearing preservation.

OBJECTIVE: To report the long-term outcome hearing results following acoustic neuroma surgery. To determine whether changes, if any, in the thresholds of the operated ear are mirrored in the contralateral unoperated side. In addition, to identify predictive factors, if any, that may predispose individuals to hearing loss in the operated ear in the late post-operative period. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective patient chart review. SETTING: University Tertiary Referral Centre. PATIENTS: From 1978 to 1997, one hundred and twenty six patients with small acoustic neuromas (less than 2 cm as measured within in the cerebellopontine angle) underwent excision via the suboccipital (retrosigmoid) approach with the patient in the prone position. Hearing preservation was successful in 43 patients (34.1%). The audiometric data of thirty patients with a minimum follow-up interval of 36 months was analyzed. The mean follow-up period was 113.4 months (range 36-264, SD=57.8) and the mean age at surgery was 47.3 years (range 32 to 64, SD = 7.3). OUTCOME MEASURES: Speech Reception Thresholds (SRT), Speech Discrimination Scores (SDS) and Pure-tone Audiometry (PTA, 0.5, 1 & 2 kHz) were noted on the operated and unoperated ears. The AAO Classification according to the Committee on Hearing and Equilibrium guidelines for the evaluation of hearing preservation in acoustic neuroma was used to assess hearing serviceability. RESULTS: Subsequent to including corresponding changes in the unoperated ear, the means of the SRT and PTA in the operated ear between the early and late post-operative periods were statistically significantly different (p=0.0012 & 0.034 respectively). Twelve (40%) patients demonstrated significant deterioration in hearing thresholds over time. Pre-operatively, 96.7% of patients had serviceable hearing (Class A & B). This falls to 76.6% in the early post-operative period and to 56.7% in the late post-operative period. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the finding that over time a significant number of individuals realize a greater ongoing hearing loss in the post tumour excision ear than the contralateral ear.