Ear blust injury in military population: A 12 months follow-up

Background: Otological accidents resulting from mine explosions are polymorphous, mainly affecting deployed military personnel in our country.A delayed treatment, usually by lack of knowledge and / or association of injuries considered to be more serious, can worsen the auditory prognosis.Methods: We have included patients treated for ear blast injury secondary to terrorist acts at the ENT department of the Military Hospital of Tunis between 2011 and 2017.All patients underwent a clinical evaluation and an audiometric exploration before and after treatment.A minimal follow-up of 12 months was required.Results: Sixty patients were included in the study with an average age of 25 years.Thirty nine percent (39%) of patients had moderate hearing loss and tinnitus was present in 80% of patients.Treatment was based on corticosteroid therapy with or without hyperbaric oxygen therapy.At 12 months follow-up, hearing gain average was 20 dB and eight with perceptual hearing aggravated their hearing loss by 15 to 20 dB.Only 37.5% of patients reported a decrease in tinnitus.Evolution, however, was multifactorial.Conclusion: Blast injury is responsible of cochlear injuries who are often final and a major source of persistent morbidity affecting the professional life of the victims.Because of possibility of secondary aggravation, extended follow -up is largely justified.