introduction: the use of ossicular graft material in ossicular chain reconstruction has significantly improved hearing results hearing after tympanoplasty and tympanomastoid surgery for chronic otitis media. today, otologists have a wide array of tools from which to choose, but may find it difficult to know which middle ear implant works best.   materials and methods: a prospective study of 80 ...

Secretory otitis media is a very common disorder in early childhood, but its effects on language development are still uncertain. We describe 10 children with secretory otitis media and illustrate the wide range of disability attributable to this. It is suggested that the impact of secretory otitis media on language development depends on at least five factors: age of onset, duration of the epi...

The physiology of the middle ear is primarily concerned with keeping the cavities air filled and fluid free to allow transmission of the sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. Middle ear epithelial cells are thought to play a key role in this process, since they actively transport Na+ and water. The [Formula: see text] of the middle ear cavities varies from 44 to 54 mmHg in healthy...

A bedtime dose of sulphamethoxazole was effective in preventing ear infections in otitis-prone young children. Thirty-three such children were studied by means of a random, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over protocol. Nine (27%) of 33 children treated with sulphamethoxazole experienced 10 episodes of acute suppurative otitis media or otitis media with effusion while 19 (58%) of 33 chi...