Taste function in elderly patients with unilateral middle ear disease

Abstract

Objective It is generally said that taste function deteriorates naturally with age. Taste function after middle ear surgery in elderly patients has not been clarified.

Material and Methods The taste function of the chorda tympani nerve on the normal and diseased sides was examined before and after middle ear surgery using electrogustometry in 79 patients aged>60 years, and the findings were compared with those in 228 young and middle-aged patients.

Results The threshold of electrogustometry on the normal side increased significantly with increasing age (p<0.0001). The rate of thresholds that were off the scale was highest in the>70 years age group. The preoperative threshold on the diseased side increased significantly with increasing age in patients with chronic otitis media (p=0.0029) and cholesteatoma (p<0.0001). In patients with chronic otitis media, the postoperative threshold of the>60 years age group tended to be higher than that of the<60 years age group.

Conclusions These findings suggest that the taste function of the chorda tympani nerve deteriorated on the diseased side as much as on the normal side in elderly patients. Therefore, in most cases, we do not have to pay as much attention to the chorda tymapani nerve when performing surgery in elderly patients compared to young and middle-aged patients.

• Cholesteatoma
• chorda tympani nerve
• chronic otitis media
• electrogustometry
• middle ear surgery

Terada T, Sone M, Tsuji K, Mishiro Y, Sakagami M. Taste function in elderly patients with unilateral middle ear disease. Acta Otolaryngol 2004; Suppl 553: 113–116.

Terada T, Sone M, Tsuji K, Mishiro Y, Sakagami M. Taste function in elderly patients with unilateral middle ear disease. Acta Otolaryngol 2004; Suppl 553: 113–116.