Tympanosclerosis of the ear drum in children.

Tympanosclerosis of the ear drum in children is associated with secretory otitis media. The tympanosclerotic changes affect the pars tensa and seem to be a dynamic process of new formation together with regress and restoration to normal tissue. Our study includes 90 cleft palate children followed for 7.8 years with a total of 2068 examinations. During the observation period 59% of the ear drums were affected by tympanosclerosis, while only 42% had tympanosclerosis at the last examination. The tympanosclerotic lesion of the ear drum disappeared completely in 30%, seemed stable in 40% and tended to grow steadily in 30% of the ear drums affected. The pathogenesis of tympanosclerosis is not clear, although the inflammation known to exist in secretory otitis media probably plays an important part.