Abstract
Objectives: There has been anecdotal evidence that otalgia and ear
fullness are associated with a deviated nasal septum (DNS). The goal of
this novel, pilot study is to evaluate if eustachian tube dysfunction
(ETD) is associated with a DNS and improved following septoplasty.
Design: Prospective comparative pilot study Setting: Tertiary hospital
at an academic institution Participants: Twenty-five patients with
septal deviations (16 with otalgia and 9 controls) underwent septoplasty
with inferior turbinate reduction between November 2016 and May 2018.
Main Outcome Measures: ETDQuestionnaire (ETDQ-7), Sino-nasal Outcome
Test (SNOT-22), and Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) assessed
quality of life pre and post operation. Results: Mean SNOT-22 scores
decreased significantly for both groups (p< 0.05). The results
of the ETDQ-7 showed aural symptoms significantly decreased for case
patients at 6 weeks (-17.4, p=0.016) which continued through week 12.
Symptoms of ear fullness and pain were significantly reduced in the case
group (p<0.05). With both groups experienced a reduction in
all questionnaires, decreased SNOT-22 scores correlated with ETDQ-7
(p=0.0012) and NOSE (p<0.036) improvements while the control
group did not see test correlations. Conclusions: Overall, our study
demonstrated otalgia or ear fullness could be associated with a DNS. The
data suggests significant correlations between all three questionnaires
in evaluating patients with nasal obstruction and aural symptoms, and
that they are reasonable tools in evaluating ETD outcomes concerning
septoplasty. Thus, we propose that nasal septum deviation be evaluated
and included in any algorithm for the diagnosis and management of
patients with ETD.