Nasal and hearing impairment: are they linked?

Hearing impairment is the most prevalent sensory deficit in the human population. Otosclerosis and chronic otitis media are two of the most frequent causes of hearing loss of the Western world and both benefit from middle ear surgery. The success rate is high for both operations, in expert hands, but, in our clinic and in every ENT clinic, there remains a percentage of failure. Some of the most frequent post-operative complications can lead to tuba] dysfunction. We believe that a correct and complete evaluation of the rhino-pharyngeal-tuba] unit is very important before tympanoplasty and stapedioplasty in order to further reduce the incidence of some post-operative complications and to increase the success rate of middle ear surgery. What is well known in medicine, 'prevention is the best therapy', seems not oddly observed in ear surgery, where is usually operated the effect, while the evaluation and therapy of the causes seems to be underestimated. (C) 2002 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.