Hearing improvement after stapedectomy: up to 19 years' follow-up period.

The long-term results of 925 stapedectomies were analysed after a mean follow-up period of 15 years. Patients who had the operation before the age of 30 were analysed separately. The entire group deteriorated by an average of 0.91 dB/year at 500-2000 Hz, while the under-30 group deteriorated by 0.67 dB/year. There were but slight differences in the conductive component, considering frequencies and age. The perceptive loss/year was not far from that in a normal population.