title: Analysis of long-term hearing gains after stapes surgery with piston reconstruction for otosclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to assess the postoperative hearing gains at individual frequencies after stapes surgery with piston reconstruction for clinical otosclerosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed the air conduction (AC) hearing gains at various audiometric frequencies in a sample of 1,168 stapes procedures with piston reconstruction performed on 911 strictly consecutive patients by one surgeon between 1963 and 1979. Assiduous follow-up of patients was attempted for at least 10 years. The audiometric results over time were stored for computer analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean AC gain over the speech frequencies (0.5, 1,2, and 3 kHz) was 35.5 dB at 1 year after operation, and the rate of deterioration over the next 19 years was 0.58 dB/y.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The picture to emerge from the analysis is clear. The mean AC gain is maximal at nearly 40 dB for the audiometric frequencies of 0.25, 0.5, and 1 kHz. The mean AC gain at any given time after operation decreases with increasing frequency, at least for frequencies of > or = 1 kHz. For any frequency there is, with few exceptions, a significant decrease in the AC gain from one time period to the next.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Ronald Edward
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Gristwood
authors.forename: William Norman
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Venables
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010040:Otosclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D013201:Stapes Surgery; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult