3.2 Postoperative hearing
Prior to surgery, all seven patients experienced a reduction in
conductive hearing or a reduction in
mixed hearing that was primarily
conductive in nature. The preoperative pure-tone average values for air
conduction (AC), bone conduction (BC), and the air-bone gap (ABG) were
60.2 dB, 25.5 dB, and 34.8 dB, respectively. Postoperative hearing tests
were conducted between 3 and 6 months for all patients following the
operation. The preoperative and postoperative hearing of the seven
patients did not differ significantly. Among the two patients with
lateral semicircular canal fistulas that were treated by patfching or
filling, one patient showed postoperative improvement in hearing, while
another patient experienced a further reduction in hearing. Table 2
shows the preoperative and postoperative hearing threshold values of the
seven patients.