LXXXIV Complications of the Stapedectomy Operation

Further hearing loss (10 db or more for bone conduction or 10% or more for discrimination score) after stapedectomy is usually cochlear, or cochlear and conductive, and only rarely is it conductive only. In most ears with further cochlear hearing loss there is a simultaneous decline in bone conduction and speech discrimination, although one or the other may occur separately. Occasionally the loss is complete. Further cochlear loss may occur during or shortly after operation, from a gross error of technique, such as drilling or picking too deeply into the vestibule, but such accidents are usually obvious to the surgeon at the time of operation and are not the concern of this report.