To evaluate high-frequency hearing outcomes in ossiculoplasty cases having favorable pure-tone average outcomes within the reporting range set by current guidelines.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists and surgeons should consider adding high-frequency pure-tone testing to routine post-ossiculoplasty outcome reporting, as standard four-frequency averages may mask clinically meaningful high-frequency deficits.
Current reporting standards for ossiculoplasty outcomes may systematically underreport high-frequency hearing deficits, potentially leading to overestimation of surgical success across the field.
- 01Standard pure-tone averages used to judge ossiculoplasty success can hide high-frequency hearing deficits.
- 02Cases classified as 'favorable' outcomes by current guidelines may still have meaningful real-world hearing limitations.
- 03High-frequency audiometry reveals deficits not captured by conventional reporting metrics.
- 04Reporting reform may be needed to accurately reflect patient hearing after middle-ear reconstruction.
- 05Findings challenge the adequacy of widely accepted outcome benchmarks in otologic surgery.
Conventional ossiculoplasty reporting standards conceal high-frequency hearing deficits in patients who appear to have favorable outcomes.
studysupportedPure-tone averages used in current guidelines do not fully reflect post-surgical hearing ability.
studysupported- PMID
- 42549507
- DOI
- 10.1002/ohn.70378.
- Journal
- Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Patients who underwent ossiculoplasty with favorable pure-tone average outcomes under current reporting guidelines
- Intervention
- High-frequency audiometric evaluation following ossiculoplasty
- Comparator
- Standard pure-tone average reporting per current guidelines
Primary outcomes
High-frequency hearing thresholds post-ossiculoplasty; Discordance between standard PTA outcomes and high-frequency hearing deficits