Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Chronic otitis media (COM) contributes to considerable morbidity, with hearing loss and tympanic membrane perforations negatively affecting quality of life (QOL). This study aims to assess the outcomes following tympanoplasty in patients with unilateral mucosal COM, with a focus on health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) using the Chronic Otitis Media Outcome Test 15 (COMOT-15) questionnaire, in addition to evaluating audiological and surgical results. METHODOLOGY: A prospective study of 70 patients undergoing Type I tympanoplasty was conducted from April 2023 to July 2024 in a tertiary care hospital in Delhi. Pre- and postoperative assessments included pure-tone audiometry (PTA) and COMOT-15 surveys. Graft uptake, hearing thresholds, and HR-QOL domains (symptoms, mental health, social function) were analyzed using paired t-tests and chi-square tests (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 27 (Released 2020; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York)). RESULTS: Postoperatively, 85.7% achieved normal hearing (vs. 0% preoperatively; p = 0.001), with the mean air-bone gap improving from 28.85 ± 7.99 dB to 12.42 ± 7.26 dB (p = 0.001). Graft uptake was successful in 94.3%. COMOT-15 scores declined significantly (31.61 to 7.18; p = 0.001), with 85.7% reporting no QOL issues. Severe ear discharge reduced from 37.1% to 4.3% (p = 0.001), and psychological scores improved from 11.92 ± 1.67 to 0.77 ± 2.49 (p = 0.001). Hearing restoration was associated with mental health improvement (90.9% marked improvement; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Type I tympanoplasty significantly restores hearing and HR-QOL in COM patients. The COMOT-15 tool effectively quantifies subjective benefits, highlighting the procedure's dual clinical and psychosocial impact.