Surgical treatment of otosclerosis in elderly patients.

The aim of this study was to analyze hearing results of stapes surgery in otosclerotic patients older than 65 years.Among 473 primary stapedectomies, 16 were performed in patients over 65 years old and were retrospectively reviewed. Hearing results were compared with those of a randomly selected group of 16 patients younger than 65 years old.Improvement in hearing (closure of the air-bone gap to <20 dB) was achieved in all of the cases, and closure of the air-bone gap to less than 10 dB occurred in 87.5% at 1 month and in 81.8% at the last evaluation (mean follow-up, 19.5 months). Hearing results were similar in elderly and younger patients.Stapes surgery is an effective procedure in elderly patients with otosclerosis to avoid hearing aid use or to facilitate hearing aid fitting.