Outcome of stapes surgery for tinnitus recovery in otosclerosis.

INTRODUCTION Stapes surgery is mainly used to improve hearing in otosclerosis; however, many patients report alleviation of tinnitus after surgery. OBJECTIVE to evaluate the effectiveness of stapes surgery for improving tinnitus symptoms. MATERIALS AND METHODS This prospective study included 29 patients with surgically proven otosclerosis, who had undergone stapedectomy or stapedotomy. We compared symptomatic (tinnitus, hearing loss, and vertigo) and audiological findings obtained before and after surgery. Using Newman's method the level of discomfort caused by tinnitus was scored from grade I to V pre- and postoperatively. RESULTS The mean preoperative tinnitus discomfort grade was 2.72, at day 1 after surgery it was 1.29, and after 1 month it had decreased to 0.96, indicating a significant improvement in the level of tinnitus discomfort (p < 0.0001). One month after surgery 82.8% of patients had a complete or partial absence of tinnitus. CONCLUSION We conclude that stapes surgery is quite effective for treatment of tinnitus as well as improvement of hearing. When deciding upon management in patients with otosclerosis the presence of tinnitus should be considered as well as hearing level.