Abstract Background: Bariatric surgery, widely considered the most effective surgical treatment for obesity and its complications, carries risks and benefits, including a common issue with Eustachian tube defects. This study aims to evaluate the association between weight loss following bariatric surgery and Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 257 patients who underwent bariatric surgery at a tertiary center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between January 2020 and December 2021. Data were obtained through an online questionnaire administered through telephone interviews, which included demographic details, clinical presentation, and an Arabic-validated version of the (ETD-7) questionnaire. Participants with a history of ear disease, symptoms, or previous ear surgery were excluded from the study. Results: In a study involving 314 initial subjects, 257 patients were included, while 58 were excluded due to various criteria, such as previous ear surgery, a history of ETD, or missing data. The demographic analysis revealed a diverse age distribution, with the majority falling between 31 and 50 years and a higher representation of females (63.4%) compared to males (36.6%). Most patients were nonsmokers (83.7%). The body mass index (BMI) analysis is pre- and post-bariatric surgery showed a significant reduction, with a mean preoperative BMI of 45.87 and postoperative BMI of 29.41. Only 8.9% of patients experienced ETD postsurgery, while 91.1% did not report such issues. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that sudden and severe weight loss does not seem to correlate with the development of ETD; more research with more extended follow-up periods using tubal dysfunction testing is needed to uncover the potential underlying causes of these symptoms.
Almutairi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.