Adhesive Otitis

Abstract

Adhesive otitis is a type of chronic otitis media, the development of which is essentially influenced by disturbed ventilation of the middle ear. Anatomic and some other predisposing factors may play a part in the origin of this disease, but one of the most important causes is evidently inadequate treatment of acute otitis media, i.e. the fact that drainage of the middle ear and inflation of air are neglected.

The proper management of acute otitis is important in the therapy and also prophylactically. Chronic mastoiditis, adhesions in the middle ear and tubal occlusion are treated by modern otosurgical methods, which however require further elaboration to meet the particular problems present in adhesive otitis, especially because of tubal occlusion and the tendency for new adhesions to develop.

On examinations of patients with adhesive otitis the impression is often that these are cases of sequelae of inflammation which can hardly be helped by treatment. The roentgenological findings are also frequently nondescript and give no clear indications of an active mastoiditis. This is explained by the irregular pneumatization and by the fact that in these cases the inflamed pneumatic cell system is as a rule covered by a fairly thick layer of solid bone. Consequently the cases often fail to get the treatment required. In our experience, however, it is in these cases frequently possible to improve hearing, sometimes markedly, by using surgical therapy.