Does maxillary expansion improve hearing loss due to otitis media with effusion?

Abstract

Past studies emphasized that maxillary expansion had a positive effect on impaired hearing due to otitis media with effusion (OME). The goal of this study was to compare the improvement of hearing loss degrees of patients treated with rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and patients watched for spontaneous resolution. This study was conducted with audiometric and tympanometric records of 22 patients with OME. Twelve patients had OME and needed RME and 10 patients had OME and were observed for spontaneous resolution. In-group 1, records were taken before expansion (T0), just after RME (T1), after the retention period (T2), and 6 months after expansion (T3). In-group 2, T0 and T2 records were taken. In-group 1, hearing levels improved and air-bone gaps (ABG) decreased significantly after RME (p