Background: This study focuses on the hearing threshold for bone conduction (BC) after middle-ear surgery. Methods: A total of 92 patients (120 ears) were treated for newly diagnosed chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma (2013−2018). BC was examined at frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz prior to and 1 year after surgery. STAM classification for cholesteatoma location, EAONO/JOS for stage, and surgery according to SAMEO-ATO classification were applied. The bone conduction threshold was compared for individual frequencies in patients with occurrence/absence of cholesteatoma in different locations. Results: For the occurrence of cholesteatoma in the attic (A), a statistically significant difference was found at 4 kHz (p < 0.001), in the supratubal recess (S1) at 4 kHz (p = 0.003), and for the mastoid (M) at 0.5 kHz (p = 0.024), at 1 kHz (p = 0.032), and at 2 kHz (p = 0.039). Conclusions: Cholesteatoma location can influence the post-operative hearing threshold for bone conduction.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery University Hospital Hradec Kralove 500 05 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove Charles University 500 03 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

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