Bone conduction in otosclerosis--operated versus non-operated ears

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether stapes surgery improves long-term bone conduction in patients with otosclerosis. SETTING: Tertiary university hospital. METHODS: Thirty patients (52 ears) who underwent stapedectomy between 1988 and 1994. Hearing tests were performed pre-operatively and 5 years postoperatively. RESULTS: The operated ears showed significant improvement in speech reception threshold and air conduction (250-4,000 Hz). Over the follow-up period, there were no significant differences in bone conduction thresholds between the operated and non-operated ears and no deterioration during follow-up in both bilateral and unilateral disease. CONCLUSIONS: This series did not provide evidence that the deterioration in bone conduction over the follow-up period in otosclerotic ears exceeds the level that can be explained by presbycusis and the Carhart effect. However, the follow-up time may have been insufficient. Stapedectomy appears to have no effect on bone conduction in this patient group. The similar bone conduction thresholds in the non-operated and operated ears in unilateral otosclerosis at the end of follow-up suggest that the thresholds in the non-operated ears approached those in the operated ones.