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Objectives: To investigate the effect of nasal obstruction surgery on eustachian tube function and middle ear ventilation. Design: Prospective study. Setting: University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome. Participants: Forty consecutive patients who underwent nasal surgery were evaluated for middle ear ventilation and tubal function. Main outcome measures: Pre- and postoperative Valsalva and Toynbee tubal function tests, tympanometry and ear fullness sensation were evaluated for both ears of each patient. Results: Results of postoperative tubal function tests were significantly better than preoperative ones (90% versus 46%; P < 0.001). No significant difference in tympanometric values was found. The majority (95%) of the patients reported a postoperative improvement of ear fullness sensation compared with preoperative (25%; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Surgery for chronic nasal obstruction significantly improves clinical tubal function but 1-month postoperative tympanometric findings remain almost the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: During extracorporeal circulation (ECC) there is a great hemodynamic stress with possible impact on the microcirculation, including cochlear one. Previous studies have evaluated the effect of ECC on inner ear with contrasting results. The aim of this study is to evaluate possible modifications of the outer hair cells (OHC) function after open heart surgery (OHS) under ECC with transient evoked (TEOAEs) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs)., Methods: Ten patients (5 F and 5 M), undergoing OHS with ECC, were subjected to an audiological assessment pre- and postoperatively. We compared the pre-operative and post-operative mean auditory thresholds, mean TEOAEs reproducibility and amplitude, and mean DPOAEs amplitude. Student's t-test was used to compare different values., Results: No significant differences were found between pre- and post-operative audiological assessment both in hearing level and in otoacoustic emissions., Conclusion: OHC function seems to be not affected by hemodynamic stress induced by ECC. Further studies on a larger scale will be necessary to confirm our preliminary data.