上顎歯槽基底弓幅径と聴力との関係

Objective: It has been reported that maxillary constriction could cause an aberration of normal breathing and affect the middle ear, resulting in hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation of the basal arch width of the maxilla and the hearing level. We hypothesized that a strong correlation would be observed.
Methods: A total of 103 subjects (52 boys and 51 girls, aged between 7 to 13 years) without an obvious hearing loss were used for this study. An audiometer was used to determine the hearing level, and the basal arch width of the maxilla was measured from study casts. In addition, nasal resistance was examined by the cloudiness of a mirror.
Results: There was no correlation between the basal arch width of the maxilla and the hearing level in any subjects (r=-0.0073); however, in the nasal resistance group (n=25), a weak but no significant correlation was observed (r=-0.280).
Conclusions: Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no correlation between the basal arch width of the maxilla and the hearing level in subjects without obvious hearing loss; however, the result in nasal resistance subjects indicated an interaction with maxillary constriction, nasal stenosis, and hearing loss.