A rare cause of conductive hearing loss: Posttraumatic external auditory canal atresia

摘要

Acquired external auditory canal atresia is an uncommon entity which can arise from a number of different causes including infection, trauma, neoplasia, inflammation and radiotherapy. Posttraumatic atresias are extremely rare, only 10% of atresias are attributed to trauma in most of the series. The presence of canal atresia causes associated morbidity, patients generally suffer from conductive hearing loss and persistent otorrhea. Surgery is the treatment of choice for posttraumatic atresias. The aim of surgery is to produce a dry, patent ear canal by removing the atretic segment and enlarging the bony canal. In this paper, we present a case of posttraumatic external auditory canal atresia and accompanying tympanic membrane perforation managed successfully 22 years after trauma.