Wideband energy reflectance patterns in preoperative and post-operative otosclerotic ears

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of energy of reflectance (ER) in preoperative and post-operative conditions in otosclerotic ears. It was also within the scope of this paper to investigate whether the changes in ER pattern post-operatively correlate to the improvement in hearing as measured by pure-tone audiometry. ER was measured in 15 surgically confirmed otosclerotic ears (mean age: 44 years) before and after the stapes surgery. The most prominent change in ER pattern following the surgery in majority of the subjects was a sharp and deep drop in ER value between 700–1000 Hz. There was also a secondary wider and smaller increase in ER value following the surgery between 2000–4000 Hz. Moreover, in most cases the drop in ER values following the surgery at low frequencies (≤1000 Hz) approximated the mean ER values in the normal group. Comparison of ER patterns with hearing improvement as measured by air conduction averaged across low (250–1000 Hz) and high (2000–6000 Hz) frequency bands before and after the surgery did not reveal any significant correlation. However, there was a general positive correlation trend for ER changes in low frequency band and AC changes, especially for high frequency bands. Changes in ER pattern may potentially be useful as an objective tool for monitoring the impact of the stapes reconstructive surgery and evaluating different surgical protocol.