International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery | September-October 2018 | Vol 4 | Issue 5 Page 1198 International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Ghate G et al. Int J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2018 Sep;4(5):1198-1201 http://www.ijorl.com pISSN 2454-5929 | eISSN 2454-5937 Original Research Article Analysis of clinical status of contralateral ear in cases of unilateral squamosal chronic otitis media Girija Ghate, Raphella Khan*, Sabreena Mukhtar INTRODUCTION Squamosal chronic otitis media is defined as an inflammatory process in the middle ear cleft characterized by retraction pocket, cholesteatoma formation or epithelial layer growing into the middle ear. The global burden of illness from CSOM involves 65– 330 million individuals with draining ears. 1 Prevalence in India was found to be around 7.8% which is the highest globally. 2 The commonest cause of and the most accepted theory for cholesteatoma formation is taken as negative middle ear pressure caused by Eustachian tube dysfunction as a result of recurrent upper respiratory tract infections or adenoid hypertrophy. Therefore, this condition is likely to affect both the ears in similar or different forms of COM to a variable degree. There lies the importance of considering the contralateral ear in conjunction with the affected side. Proper analysis of the contralateral ear is equally important as it will help in diagnosis of any disease process established or in early stage, its early treatment and prevention of progression of the disease. In this study, we have evaluated the condition ABSTRACT Background: Squamosal COM is a condition caused by various etiological factors which are likely to affect the other side too. If diagnosed and intervened in time, the progression of the disease from simple negative middle ear pressure to cholesteatoma formation can be prevented and ear can be protected from hearing loss. Therefore it is important to assess and evaluate the contralateral ear appropriately. Methods: This prospective study included patients above six years of age suffering from unilateral squamosal chronic otitis media. Their contralateral ears were examined and assessed for any ear disease. Results: We found various conditions in contralateral ears ranging from normal tympanic membrane to various types and grades of retractions of pars tensa as well as pars flaccida and some infectious conditions too. The commonest finding was secretory otitis media (23%) and the least common was otomycosis (3%). Conclusions: Most common status in contralateral ear was found to be secretory otitis media in adult and paediatric age groups (23%). In our study, 84% of the patients showed pathology in the contralateral ear and 16% were normal, so the study proves that in patients with unilateral squamosal otitis media, with no complaints or previous history of discharge in contralateral ear shows pathology to quite a good extent¸ so the contralateral ear should always be evaluated comprehensively to efficiently diagnose any alterations and provide timely therapeutic intervention to prevent further progression of the disease and hearing loss. Keywords: Contralateral ear, Squamosal COM, Tympanic membrane, Retraction pockets, Cholesteatoma Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College and Hospital, DPU, Pune, Maharashtra, India Received: 11 July 2018 Revised: 27 July 2018 Accepted: 28 July 2018 *Correspondence: Dr. Raphella Khan, E-mail: rafellakhn26@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/issn.2454-5929.ijohns20183394