Hearing Rehabilitation of Patients with Chronic Otitis Media: A Discussion of Current State of Knowledge and Research Priorities

Abstract

Although chronic otitis media is a major cause of conductive and mixed hearing loss, auditory rehabilitation is currently not optimal for this patient group. Planning for hearing rehabilitation must accompany strategies for infection control when surgically managing patients with chronic otitis media. Several barriers prevent adequate hearing restoration in such a heterogeneous patient population. A lack of standardized reporting of surgical interventions, hearing, and quality of life outcomes impedes meta-analyses of existing data and the generation of highquality evidence, including cost-effectiveness data, through prospective studies. This, in turn, prevents the ability of clinicians to stratify patients based on prognostic indicators, which could guide the decision-making pathway. Strategies to improve reporting standards and methods have the potential to classify patients with chronic otitis media preoperatively, which could guide decision-making for hearing restoration with ossiculoplasty versus prosthetic hearing devices. Appropriately selected clinical guidelines would not only foster directed research but could enhance patient-centered and evidence-based decision-making regarding hearing rehabilitation in the surgical planning process.

Quality of Life Assessment of Chronic Otitis Media Patients Following Surgery

“…Chronic otitis media (COM) is a persistent inflammation of the middle ear generally characterized by tympanic membrane perforation, ossicular chain impairment and bone resorption [ 1 , 2 ]. It seems to affect approximately 0.45–2.6% of the population [ 3 ], contributing over 50% to the global burden of the hearing loss [ 4 ].…”