What Matters Most

Question: A 6 year old boy is evaluated for a right tympanic membrane perforation. His mother reports that he had several PE tubes placed throughout his life for recurrent otitis media. Examination reveals a dry perforation without evidence of cholesteatoma. Evaluation of his contralateral ear reveals a myringoincudostapediopexy with serous fluid. Audiogram reveals a conductive hearing loss bilaterally with a 20 dB air-bone gap. Which of the following factors most significantly impacts the likelihood of success?

a) Patient age under 8 years

b) Evidence of contralateral tympanic membrane retraction

c) Conductive hearing loss

d) Etiology of perforation

[Answer will be posted with next week's new question]

Answer to last week's question, “Drug Induced" (August 5, 2019)

A - Decreased sleep latency.