Objective: To explore the surgical effect for patients with different types of tympanosclerosis under total otoendoscopy. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 86 patients who were diagnosed with tympanosclerosis and underwent total endoscopic ear surgery. According to the Wielinga classification, the patients were categorized into type II group (n = 34) and type IV group (n = 52). Hearing outcomes were recorded and analyzed at the preoperative, short-term postoperative (≤6 months), and long-term postoperative (≥1 year) periods. Results: Significant differences in average air-bone gap (ABG) were observed among preoperative, short-term, and long-term postoperative periods in type II and IV tympanosclerosis. No difference was found between type II and IV in short-term ABG, whereas a significant difference appeared in long-term outcomes ( P < .05). The duration of illness was strongly correlated with tympanosclerosis type and preoperative ABG. Conclusion: The short-term surgical benefits of type II and type IV are similar, while the long-term hearing recovery of type II is better. The bone conduction recovery of type IV is better. The longer the disease course, the more severe the hearing loss.
Gui et al. (2026) studied this question.