Academic Journal
Disease-specificity in correlations between speech audiometry, hearing-related quality of life, and varying calculation methods for pure tone average in middle ear diseases.
| Τίτλος: | Disease-specificity in correlations between speech audiometry, hearing-related quality of life, and varying calculation methods for pure tone average in middle ear diseases. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Grueninger I; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Helios Hospital Berlin-Buch, Schwanebecker Chaussee 50, 13125, Berlin, Germany.; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377, Munich, Germany., van de Loo J; Medical Faculty, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, D-50937, 50924, Cologne, Germany., Alekuzei S; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377, Munich, Germany., Hansen KK; Medical Faculty, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, D-50937, 50924, Cologne, Germany., Henze A; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Helios Hospital Berlin-Buch, Schwanebecker Chaussee 50, 13125, Berlin, Germany., Spiegel J; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377, Munich, Germany.; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Strasse 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany., Polterauer D; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377, Munich, Germany., Neuling M; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377, Munich, Germany., Eckel HNC; Medical Faculty, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, D-50937, 50924, Cologne, Germany., Mayer M; Medical Faculty, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, D-50937, 50924, Cologne, Germany., Luers JC; Medical Faculty, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, D-50937, 50924, Cologne, Germany., Klußmann JP; Medical Faculty, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, D-50937, 50924, Cologne, Germany., Canis M; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377, Munich, Germany., Müller J; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377, Munich, Germany., Walger M; Medical Faculty, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, D-50937, 50924, Cologne, Germany., Rader T; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377, Munich, Germany., Sharaf K; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377, Munich, Germany. Kariem.Sharaf@uk-koeln.de.; Medical Faculty, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, D-50937, 50924, Cologne, Germany. Kariem.Sharaf@uk-koeln.de. |
| Πηγή: | European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery [Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol] 2026 Sep; Vol. 283 (9), pp. 5639-5649. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 01. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article; Observational Study |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Springer International Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 9002937 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1434-4726 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09374477 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Heidelberg : Springer International, c1990- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Audiometry, Pure-Tone*/methods , Audiometry, Speech*/methods , Hearing Loss, Conductive*/diagnosis , Hearing Loss, Conductive*/physiopathology , Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural*/diagnosis , Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural*/physiopathology , Otitis Media*/physiopathology , Otitis Media*/complications , Otosclerosis*/physiopathology , Otosclerosis*/complications , Otosclerosis*/diagnosis , Quality of Life*, Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Auditory Acuity ; Bone Conduction ; Chronic Disease ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires |
| Περίληψη: | Purpose: This study examined whether different methods for calculating pure tone average (PTA) yield clinically relevant differences in correlations with speech audiometry and hearing-related quality of life (QoL) in conductive and mixed hearing loss. Additionally, we investigated whether these associations vary among distinct middle ear pathologies: otosclerosis, acute otitis media (AOM) and chronic otitis media (COM). Methods: In an ambispective cohort study at a tertiary referral center, 220 ears were analyzed. 194 ears were collected retrospectively. 26 patients were recruited prospectively. Inclusion criteria were adult age, confirmed diagnosis, near-normal bone conduction and conductive hearing loss without prior middle ear surgery. Pure-tone and Freiburg speech audiometry were analyzed along with the SSQ12 questionnaire in prospective patients. Multiple air conduction (AC) and air-bone gap (ABG) - PTA configurations were compared using linear regression and ANCOVA. Results: Across all cohorts, PTA values strongly correlated with speech recognition at 65 dB SPL and with 50% number recognition thresholds (R2 up to 0.77). No clinically relevant differences were found between 4-frequency-PTAs using 3 kHz vs. 4 kHz. However, disease-specific patterns emerged: otosclerosis patients showed consistently poorer word recognition than AOM or COM patients at comparable PTA levels. QoL outcomes correlated significantly with AC-based PTAs but not with ABG-based PTAs or speech results. Conclusions: PTA calculation methods yield comparable correlations with speech understanding; inclusion of 3 or 4 kHz does not alter results meaningfully. Disease-specific discrepancies underscore the need for nuanced interpretation of PTA-speech relationships and support integrating both PTA and QoL measures in patient assessment. The study was conducted under clinical trial registration number DRKS00037758. (© 2026. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Conflict of interest: Any financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations, that could inappropriately influence (bias) the work, are disclosed by all authors. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. |
| Σχόλια: | Comment in: Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2026 Sep 7. doi: 10.1007/s00405-026-10545-w.. (PMID: 42704473) |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: AAO-HNS guideline; Conductive hearing loss; Mixed hearing loss; Otitis media; Otosclerosis; Pure tone average; Quality of life |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260601 Date Completed: 20260925 Latest Revision: 20261005 |
| Update Code: | 20261005 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13615081 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00405-026-10335-4 |
| PMID: | 42223617 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1434-4726 |
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| DOI: | 10.1007/s00405-026-10335-4 |