Learning Objectives:
The repeated dysfunction of Eustachian tube repeatedly may occur acute, chronic serous otitis media that can exacerbate the tympanic membrane status as adhesive otitis media, which is a result of chronic inflammation of middle ear and mastoid cavity. It may occur erosion of ossicles, which can make conductive hearing loss or cholesteatomatous otitis media while in progress. We have experienced not only recovery of middle ear, mastoid aeration, but also recovery of hearing through using only ventilation T-tube for long period. The patients were 10-year-old female, 30-year-old female and 20-year old male who visited outpatients because of otorrhea and hearing disturbance. The T-tube were inserted at operating room under general or local anesthesia. The difference of air-bone gap between preoperative and postoperative hearing were 45 dB, 18 dB and 17 dB each, and each period of tubing were 53 months, 40 months and 26 months. All patients performed temporal bone computer tomography (CT) before surgery, and all of them showed soft tissue density in middle ear and mastoid cavity, and sclerotic mastoid bone changes. However all patients showed improvement of temporal CT finding without soft tissue density in middle ear and mastoid cavity postoperatively. We propose this treatment because it may be simple and have cost-benefit compared with other methods. However close observation of tympanic membrane perforation and recurrent otorrhea after tube insertion might be necessary.
