Investigation of absorbance characteristics of tympanic membranes repaired with cartilage graft

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the absorbance findings of TM repaired with a cartilage graft, in the pre-op, and the 1st and 3rd months of the post-op through wideband tympanometry and to compare the absorbance values both between themselves and with the control group. In this prospectively-designed study, 40 individuals are included comprising 20 individuals who were diagnosed with COM and planned to undergo Type 1 tympanoplasty and 20 healthy individuals without any ear pathology. Pure tone audiometry was applied once to the control group, and 3 times to the study group (in the pre-op, and the 1st and 3rd months of the post-op.). When PTA results were examined, a significant improvement was observed in the post-op hearing thresholds, despite not reaching normal values. According to the WBT results, in the 3rd month of the post-op, while similar absorbance values were obtained at low frequencies (between 226 and 500 Hz), low absorbance values were obtained at moderate and high frequencies (except for 2000 and 8000 Hz). When the relationship between the air-bone gap (ABG) and the absorbance values was viewed, a negative correlation was found in the absorbance values at 1000 and 4000 Hz in the pre-op as well as post-op (p <0.05). A statistically significant difference was found between the absorbance values of the study and control groups (p <0.05). When a comparison was made in terms of cartilage graft material, in the study group, no statistically significant difference was observed. WBT can evaluate absorbance findings without damaging the graft in the post-op., providing useful information as a quick and practical measurement tool to explore the effects of repaired TM on middle ear dynamics. Keywords: Absorbance, Cartilage Graft, Chronic Otitis Media, Tympanoplasty, Wideband Tympanometry,