Background: It has been accepted that in patients with CSOM, conductive deafness results from mechanical break-down of sound conduction ,whilist the cochlea remains unaffected.
Objectives: Our study aims to prove a sensorineural component in hearing loss in patients suffering from CSOM , which necissates early detection as it increases in severity with time.
Methods: A prospective study was done on 64 patients, all were diagnosed as having unilateral CSOM, their ages ranged from 18-40 years to exclude presbyacusis as a cause of sensorineural deafness.
These patients were divided into 4 groups according to the duration of discharge and further divided into 3 groups according to the pathology (simple perforation, granulation tissue or cholesteatoma).
Results: 62 patients showed some degree of sensorineural deafness in the affected ear accounting for 96.8% of the total number of patients,
While only 2 patients escaped the phenomenon. Worsening of bone conduction thresholds was noticed with increased duration of the disease.
The highest loss was in patients with severe pathology (cholesteatoma) and least in those with simple perforation.
Conclusion: This study indicates that the degree of sensorineural hearing loss in patients with CSOM relates with the duration and complications of the disease which is contrary to the traditionally accepted belief of the physicians that cochlea remains unaffected in CSOM.