Prospective Study of the Effects of Ventilation Tubes on Hearing after Radiotherapy for Carcinoma of Nasopharynx

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Abstract
In patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, deafness sometimes occurs following radiotherapy. It is usually conductive, but may be sensorineural. Tinnitus is present frequently and usually is distressing. The role of ventilation tubes (grommets) in relieving these problems was assessed in a prospective randomized controlled trial of 115 patients. In the group with grommets, there was an improvement in hearing, with a reduction of the averaged air-bone gap (p< .01). This was not found in the control group without ventilation tubes, who developed a larger conductive loss (p< .01) and, in addition, a slight deterioration of the averaged bone conduction threshold (p< .01). Surprisingly, the group with grommets did not develop this sensorineural loss (p> .01). In addition, tinnitus was improved significantly by the insertion of ventilation tubes (p< .01). Neither necrosis nor stenosis of the external auditory meatus was found in either group.

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