A patient undergoing middle ear surgery may afterwards experience symptoms of a patulous Eustachian tube if these were previously “masked”.
Clinical features of a masked patulous Eustachian tube:
(1) The patient has a patulous Eustachian tube.
(2) The patient has a conductive hearing loss.
(3) The patient does not experience symptoms of a patulous Eustachian tube because of the hearing impairment.
(4) Middle ear surgery improves hearing.
(5) Since the patient can now hear better, s/he develops autophony and other symptoms of the patulous Eustachian tube.
Prior to performing middle ear surgery it may be beneficial to screen the patient for a patulous Eustachian tube in order to include this in the management plan.
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