Correlation Study between Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media Severity and the Air Conduction Threshold of Its Contralateral Ear

Abstract Background: The more severe the middle ear inflammation with chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), the more likely its contralateral middle ear suffers from chronic otitis media. Paparella’s continuum theory describes otitis media as a continuous and dynamic inflammation that starts from eustachian tube blockage. This ongoing and prolonged inflammation may affect the contralateral ear (CLE), manifesting in bilateral chronic otitis media. Methods: A cross-sectional study on 42 medical records of CSOM patients hospitalized for middle ear surgery. In this research, we used the middle ear risk index (MERI) scoring to measure CSOM severity, which is estimated to affect air conduction (AC) threshold of the CLE by interfering with its middle ear impedance. The correlation between the MERI score of the CSOM ear and AC of the CLE was analyzed using the Pearson correlation test. Results: There was a strong positive correlation between the MERI score of CSOM with cholesteatoma and its CLE AC threshold ( r = 0.610, P < 0.01), while the MERI score of CSOM without cholesteatoma had a weak positive correlation with its CLE AC ( r = 0.384, P < 0.05). Conclusions: The higher MERI scores in either CSOM with cholesteatoma or without cholesteatoma were correlated to higher CLE AC threshold.