Gustatory function in chronic otitis media (mucosal type) before and after tympanoplasty

Abstract

Chronic inflammation in the middle ear may result in functional impairment of the chorda tympani nerve, which carries taste from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue. This may lead to impaired taste sensation. Timely intervention and adequate disease clearance may help the chorda tympani nerve to recover. Gustatory function of 107 patients who underwent Tympanoplasty for Chronic otitis media (mucosal type) was evaluated in a cohort of Indian patients. To compare the preoperative and postoperative gustatory function in these patients taste scores were documented preoperatively, and at 6 weeks and 3 months postoperatively, in an effort to document taste function improvement after disease clearance. The taste scores thus obtained were recorded and analyzed. A significant improvement in taste threshold postoperatively in comparison to the preoperative taste scores (p = 0.001) was found. It was observed that age of the patient and duration of illness have a significant impact on the recovery of taste function. Our study suggests that taste perception improves over a period of time after successful tympanoplasty in patients with chronic otitis media (mucosal type).

A Preliminary Study on Acute Otitis Media in Spanish Children with Late Dinner Habits

“…It seems that middle ear inflammation may involve damage to the chorda tympani nerve with taste sensation impairment [ 13 ]. Alterations in taste sensation may explain why otitis media patients need a considerably higher fat intake than healthy patients [ 14 ].…”

Comparison of gustatory function between mucosal and squamous disease: a randomised controlled study

“…The gustatory dysfunction in middle-ear diseases is rarely described in past literature. Only a handful of related full clinical studies have been performed in the past, [1][2][3][4][5] and the majority of them have focused on chronic mucosal diseases. Additionally, the comparison of taste dysfunction between mucosal and squamous diseases has been rarely addressed in the world literature.…”

Surgery for Chronic Otitis Media Causes Greater Taste Disturbance Than Surgery for Otosclerosis

“…In theory, patients with CSOM have impaired taste ability because of the pathology before surgery and would be less prone to become affected by taste disturbance after surgery. A few studies reported preoperative taste disturbance in patients with CSOM and other reported, in contrast, functional improvement after surgery for CSOM (5,14,15). Several studies reported morphological changes in the CTN in patients operated for CSOM (16)(17)(18)(19).…”