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Ear-pick injury as a traumatic ossicular damage in Japan

  • Otology
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Abstract

This retrospective study examined the etiology and treatment results for traumatic, conductive hearing loss in 22 patients who underwent surgery between 1998 and 2008 at Osaka Red Cross Hospital. All patients underwent computed tomography (CT) of the temporal bone preoperatively. The ear surgery comprised closure of the ruptured tympanic membranes and restoration of the sound-transmitting function of the ossicular chain. Their mean age was 30.3 years, and the average delay from injury until treatment was 6.0 years. Of the injuries due to foreign-body insertion, the most common cause was ear-pick injury. Incudostapedial disarticulation was the most common finding, which was diagnosed preoperatively using CT in seven cases and identified at surgery in 15 cases. Closure of the air–bone gap to within 10 and 20 dB was observed in 50.0 and 68.2% of the patients, respectively. The hearing threshold improved by 10 dB or more in 16 (72.7%) patients. If no improvement in hearing loss follows the absorption of hemotympanium or closure of an eardrum perforation, dislocation of the ossicular bones should be suspected. Ossicular reconstruction following trauma produces more stable and better hearing results, even after delayed treatment.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ehime University School of Medicine, Shizugawa-cho, Toon, Ehime, 791-0295, Japan

    Nobuhiro Hakuba

  2. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Osaka Red Cross Hospital, 5-30 Fudegasaki-cho, Tennouji-ku, Osaka, 543-8555, Japan

    Nobuhiro Hakuba, Michitaka Iwanaga, Shinzo Tanaka, Yasuyuki Hiratsuka, Yohei Kumabe, Masaya Konishi, Yusuke Okanoue, Nao Hiwatashi & Tadahiko Wada

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  1. Nobuhiro Hakuba
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  2. Michitaka Iwanaga
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  3. Shinzo Tanaka
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  4. Yasuyuki Hiratsuka
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  5. Yohei Kumabe
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  6. Masaya Konishi
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  7. Yusuke Okanoue
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  8. Nao Hiwatashi
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  9. Tadahiko Wada
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Correspondence to Nobuhiro Hakuba.

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Hakuba, N., Iwanaga, M., Tanaka, S. et al. Ear-pick injury as a traumatic ossicular damage in Japan. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 267, 1035–1039 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-009-1162-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-009-1162-x

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