Effects of Chronic Otitis Media on Contralateral Ear

Abstract

Chronic otitis media (COM) is rarely an isolated entity, because the responsible factors for its development in one ear were in a similar way will
impact the contralateral ears, since both ears had a common “nasopharyngeal” drainage. Methods: The following study is a cross sectional study
carried out on 200 patients having COM (mucosal and squamosal type) presenting in the OPD in the department of ENT at Dr Susheela Tiwari
Government Hospital, Haldwani between January 2019 and September 2020. Result: Otoendoscopy, pure tone audiometry and X ray mastoid findings were noticed in both the ears in patients of COM (mucosal/ squamosal). Otoscopically the most common finding in contralateral ear in mucosal type of disease was tympanosclerosis (42.53%) and in squamosal type of disease it was pars tensa retraction (34.62%). Pure tone audiometry shows more severe hearing loss in the contralateral ear of squamosal COM than mucosal COM. Radiologically pneumatization was noticed in the contralateral ear in the mucosal and squamosal COM. Tympanometry was also performed in the patients with COM. Conclusion: Chronic Otitis media is a disease with a very varied clinical presentation and disease in one ear has been sometimes found to be associated with subtle to gross changes without any symptoms observed in the contralateral ear. These changes can eventually result in the beginning of a gradual and chronic inflammatory process in the contralateral ear. Clinical assessment of the contralateral ear is equally important as of the diseased ear.