Primary ciliary dyskinesia and the middle ear

The middle ear cavity and the eustachian tube contain a well-functioning mucociliary clearance system. To learn more about the importance of this mucociliary clearance, we studied patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia, in whom mucociliary clearance is absent. Thirty-six patients were investigated by means of a questionnaire; in 16 of these patients, otological and audiological studies could be performed. In patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a discrepancy was found between subjective ear complaints and the actual middle ear function. Moreover, it appeared that for the middle ear system, mucociliary clearance is of importance only in the first 3 decades of life. With aging, however, a deficient mucociliary clearance system in the middle ear and eustachian tube can be fully compensated for.