Otological Manifestations in Oral Submucous Fibrosis

Background: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a chronic premalignant condition seen in the oral cavity, but sometimes extends to the pharynx, esophagus, or even the larynx. OSMF causes stiffness in the oral cavity leads to trismus and affects speech and swallowing. Sometimes this lesion affects the Eustachian tube opening at the nasopharynx which results in Eustachian tube dysfunction followed by middle ear diseases. The purpose of the present work is to evaluate otological manifestations in OSMF patients. Materials and Methods: Patients with OSMF were evaluated for otological manifestations such as hearing impairment and fullness in the ear. All of them were evaluated with pure tone audiometry and tympanometry. Results: In this study group of 58 patients of OSMF comprising 116 ears, the hearing was within the normal limit in 60 ears (51.72%), a mild degree of conductive deafness in 52 ears (44.82%), a mild degree of sensorineural deafness in 2 ears (1.72%) and a moderate degree of sensorineural deafness were present in 2 ears (1.72%). There is a significant difference in mean quantitative hearing impairment was seen in OSMF groups C and group D with respect to the control group. Conclusion: Involvements of palatal muscles in OSMF patients reduce the patency of the Eustachian tube, resulting in a conductive type of deafness. OSMF patients should be assessed for hearing impairment and suggested for proper management.