Fibrosis Within the Tympanic Membrane

J Craniofac Surg. 2016 Jul;27(5):e427-8. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000002703.

Abstract

A primary mass lesion arising from the tympanic membrane is extremely rare. The authors report a patient of extensive fibrosis within the tympanic membrane in a 65-year-old woman who did not have a history of ear infection. The patient complained of slow progressing hearing loss on the left side without otorrhea or otalgia. Otoscopic examination showed a thick tympanic membrane with whitish mass-like bulge, and pure-tone audiometry revealed conductive hearing loss. The lesion was totally resected, and final findings of a histopathologic examination revealed extensive fibrosis with subsiding inflammation within the tympanic membrane. Fibrosis within the tympanic membrane may present with slow progressing conductive hearing loss and should be considered a possible differential diagnosis of mass lesions in the tympanic membrane.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Audiometry, Pure-Tone
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Fibrosis / pathology
  • Hearing Loss, Conductive / diagnosis*
  • Hearing Loss, Conductive / physiopathology
  • Humans
  • Otoscopy
  • Tympanic Membrane / pathology*