Ear Treatments

What is Ossiculoplasty

Ossiculoplasty is the reconstruction of the middle ear ossicular chain which has been disrupted or destroyed, by the use of interpositioned implants which help in regaining the original mechanics of the ossicular chain to transfer the sound energy to the inner ear. Ossicular abnormalities can range from loss of ossicular continuity due to trauma, congenital,surgical manipulation or middle ear pathology such as cholesteatoma or fixation of the ossicles in cases of otosclerosis or it can be in combination.

Why should I have an ossiculoplasty?

By reconstructing the hearing bones with artificial bones made out of titanium, plastic or cartilage your hearing can be improved. How much your hearing will improve is dependent on how severe the damage has been to the ear bones and middle ear and what type of artificial material we are able to use to repair the damage.

What are the risks?

• In some cases, after surgery the hearing may only slightly improve and you may still feel the operated ear hearing is still poor, even if we can see an improvement on a hearing test.
• It is normal to get a few days of dizziness and in some cases this can last more than a week.
• There is a small chance of tinnitus (noise in the ear). If you already have tinnitus it often gets better, although sometimes the tinnitus will stay the same, but it rarely gets worse.
• Some people experience a change in their taste at the front of the tongue on the same side as the operated ear. This is because the taste nerve runs underneath your eardrum and can become stretched or damaged during the operation.
• Sometimes you can get an infection in the operated ear which may affect the outcome of the hearing afterwards.