title: A reconsideration of the parameters for evaluating tympanic reconstruction.
abstract: Twenty years' experience with tympanoplasty operations incorporating ossicular reconstruction revealed some unexpected improvements in bone conduction thresholds postoperatively. Because there appeared to be a relationship between this occurrence and the degree of air-bone closure, the possibility that bone conduction thresholds were related to the efficiency of the middle ear sound transformer mechanism was investigated. It has been possible to demonstrate that such a relationship does exist. Its extent and the possible underlying mechanisms are discussed. It is concluded that the evaluation of ossiculoplasty results would be more realistic if they were based on a parameter that measures cochlear function with greater accuracy than do preoperative bone conduction thresholds.
mesh_terms: D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001844:Bone Conduction; D003051:Cochlea / Q000502:physiology; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006309:Hearing; D006801:Humans; D014433:Tympanoplasty