Far-advanced otosclerosis (FAO) refers to severe otosclerosis with scarce auditory functions. The identification of the best method to correctly listen to sound and speech has a large impact on patients' quality of life. We retrospectively analyzed the auditory function of 15 patients affected by FAO who were treated with stapedectomy plus hearing aids independent of the severity of their auditory deficit before surgery. The combination of surgery and hearing aids allowed excellent recovery of the perception of pure tone sounds and speech. Four patients, because of poor auditory thresholds, needed a cochlear implant after stapedectomy. Despite being based on a small sample of patients, our results suggest that stapedotomy plus hearing aids could improve the auditory capacities of patients with FAO independent of their auditory thresholds at T0. The careful selection of patients is fundamental to obtain the best outcomes.
Keywords: advanced otosclerosis; auditory threshold; cochlear implant; hearing aids; hearing loss; otosclerosis; pure tone auditory test; speech; stapedectomy; word recognition.