Long-term hearing outcomes after ossiculoplasty in comparison to short-term outcomes

Objectives: To investigate long-term hearing outcomes after ossiculoplasty. Study Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Tertiary referral center. Patients: One hundred ninety-nine patients who underwent ossiculoplasty between 1989 and 2001 by the same surgeon and were followed for more than 5 years. Methods: Postoperative hearing outcomes were considered successful if the postoperative air-bone gap was within 20 dB. The outcomes after 6 months and 5 years were analyzed. Results: The overall rate of successful outcomes was 61.3% after 6 months and 54.3% after 5 years. There was a significant difference between 6 months and 5 years (p < 0.05). The significant deterioration of long-term hearing outcomes was found in malleus-present ears, ears with cholesteatoma/atelectasis, adults, and ears treated by one-stage operation. The reasons for long-term unsuccessful outcomes were adhesion or retraction of the ear drum in 13 ears (54.2%). Conclusion: The hearing outcomes after ossiculoplasty showed significant deterioration on long-term follow-up. Innovative approaches to the management of cholesteatoma/atelectasis are necessary to improve and stabilize long-term hearing outcomes.