Introduction: The dilation of the Eustachian tube using balloon eustachian tuboplasty (BET) is an established therapy to treat ventilation disorders of the eustachian tube. In this study we examined which diagnoses profit the most from the BET regarding tube function and the quality of life before and after BET.

Material/ Method: We present a retrospective study from 2011 to 2016 at the UKSH Lübeck in the Department of ENT. The data collected consisted of audiological measurements and questionnaires pre-and postoperatively, from which the EustachianTubeScore5 (ETS5) and the Quality of Life Score (QL) could then be calculated.

Results: A total of 205 treatments were recorded, including 132 patients. In all 205 treatments tubal dysfunction was present preoperatively. A distinction was made between a pure tubal ventilation disorder (36%) and a tubal ventilation disorder (TVD) with additional diagnoses, like TVD with recurrent otitis media (33%), TVD with adhesive process (25%) and TVD with cholesteatoma (6%). The follow-ups took place up to 1 year after BET. It was shown that the diagnosis of TVD with recurrent otitis media showed the greatest improvement in ETS5 of 2.5 points. Significant p-values were seen after 2 postoperative weeks in both pure TVD (p<0,05) and in TVD with recurrent otitis media (p<0,05). The QL from pre- to postoperative increased most and significantly in patients with a pure TVD by 4.4 points (p<0,05) and in patients with TVD and recurrent Otitis media improved by 4 points (p<0,05).

Discussion: A significant improvement in the ETS5 and QL was demonstrated up to 1 year for the pure TVD and for the TVD with recurrent otitis media. These data underline the effectiveness of BET, particularly for pure TVD and for TVD with recurrent otitis media.

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