Patients with patulous Eustachian tubes (PET) suffer from annoying aural symptoms, such as voice or breath autophony, and aural fullness due to the ET's abnormal patency. It may lead to an enormous reduction in quality of life. Various treatment methods, including conservative and surgical therapy, have been reported. In most cases, conservative treatment is sufficient to relieve patients of aural symptoms. However, some chronic and severe cases are resistant to traditional conservative therapy. Recently performed prospective and multicenter trials revealed the efficacy and safety of a silicone plug (Kobayashi plug) insertion for patients with severe PET. Patulous Eustachian tube handicap inventory-10 (PHI-10), tubal obstruction procedures, sitting computed tomography (CT), and ET function tests (tubo-tympano-aerodynamic graphy (TTAG) and sonotubometry) are useful for diagnosis as well as selecting candidates for surgery in severe cases.
Keywords: Eustachian tube; patulous Eustachian tube; silicone plug; surgical treatment; tympanic membrane.
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