Objective: After tympanoplasty, it is often challenging to differentiate between different causes of a remaining air bone gap (ABG). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) offers a new approach for combined morphologic and functional measurements of the tympanic membrane and adjacent parts of the middle ear. Thus, it provides valuable diagnostic information in patients with a reduced sound transfer after middle ear surgery.
Patient and intervention: A patient with history of tympanoplasty and a persistent ABG was investigated with endoscopic OCT before revision surgery.
Main outcome measures: The oscillation behavior and the thickness of the reconstructed tympanic membrane was determined. The oscillation amplitudes of the inserted prosthesis were compared to a finite element model simulation and to the clinical findings and the audiometric data of the patient.
Results: OCT measurements showed a reduced oscillation amplitude of the prosthesis while revealing an aerated middle ear and good coupling of the prosthesis. Transfer loss measured by OCT showed a similar progression as the ABG measured by pure-tone audiometry with a mean divergence of 4.45 dB.
Conclusion: Endoscopic OCT is a promising tool for the evaluation of tympanoplasty outcome. It supports established otologic diagnostics and can help differentiating between different causes of conductional hearing loss.