Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the association between extended high-frequency hearing loss (EHFHL) and chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty CSOM ears and 120 normal ears were enrolled in this study. All participants with normal bone conduction threshold verified through conventional pure tone audiometry underwent extended high-frequency pure tone audiometry evaluation. The frequencies tested were 9 kHz, 10 kHz, 11.2 kHz, 12.5 kHz, 14 kHz and 16 kHz. The average hearing threshold of all extended high frequencies was recorded as the degree of hearing loss. Results: The prevalence of EHFHL was 91.7% in the CSOM group and 32.5% in the control group. There was a highly significant association between CSOM and duration of the disease with extended frequency hearing loss ( P < 0.001). The results also showed that the longer the duration of CSOM, the more severe the degree of EHFHL. Conclusions: The extended high-frequency audiometry test is very useful in detecting early high-frequency hearing loss in CSOM. This test should be regularly performed in CSOM cases to take early preventative measures against further irreversible sensorineural hearing loss.
Eng et al. (2025) studied this question.