Therapeutic Effect of Tympanoplasty on Patients with Chronic Otitis Media with Tinnitus and Influencing Factors.

Objective: This research was conducted to investigate the therapeutic effects of tympanoplasty on patients with chronic otitis media with tinnitus and analyze the possible influencing factors for patient prognosis. Methods: This is a pre-post control group study, 86 patients with chronic otitis media were included as the subjects and enrolled into tinnitus group (n = 46) and the non-tinnitus group (n = 40). All patients underwent tympanoplasty under microscope or ear endoscopy. A tinnitus severity and efficacy assessment scale was employed for the evaluation of the severity of tinnitus among the subjects. In addition, tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) was utilized to evaluate disease alleviation. Results: Before treatment, the proportions of the patients with tinnitus at grades I, II, III, IV, and V amounted to 15.22%, 32.61%, 21.74%, 17.39%, and 13.04%, respectively, while they were 30.43%, 45.65%, 13.04%, 8.71%, and 2.17%, respectively 3 months after treatment (P < .05). THI scores for the patients in the tinnitus group before and 3 months after treatment amounted to 17.96 ± 3.66 and 16.21 ± 3.29, respectively (P < .05). After treatment, the air conduction (AC) and bone conduction (BC) thresholds and air-bone gap (ABG) of the two groups apparently declined (P < .05). No statistical significance was detected in the differences in disease classification, disease courses, and whether an electric drill was used among the patients between effective and invalid groups (P > .05). Conclusion: To some extent, tympanoplasty alleviated tinnitus among patients with chronic otitis media and promoted the restoration of hearing. Hence, it is worthy of application in clinical treatment.

Social functions of relaxed open-mouth display in golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana).

Relaxed open-mouth display serves important social functions in relation to submission, reconciliation, affiliation and reassurance among non-human primate societies; however, quantitative evidence on this behavior remains insufficient among multi-level social groups. From July to November 2016, we examined four potential functions of the relaxed open-mouth display during pairwise, intra-unit social interactions among 18 free-ranging adult and sub-adult golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) who belonged to three one-male, multi-female units (OMU) at Dalongtan, Shennongjia National Park, China. Results showed that: compared with no relaxed open-mouth display, (1) the occurrence of displacement by a dominant individual approaching a subordinate was lower and the distance of the subordinate to the approaching dominant was shorter when the subordinate showed open-mouth display; (2) relaxed open-mouth display reduced the probability of continued attack for victims of aggression and allowed victims to achieve closer proximity to the aggressor during post-conflict periods; (3) relaxed open-mouth display by dominant individuals allowed them to achieve closer proximity to subordinates; and (4) the exchange of relaxed open-mouth display had a greater impact on the outcome of interactions than one individual alone giving this signal. These findings suggest that relaxed open-mouth display serves important functions regarding submission, reconciliation, affiliation and reassurance in coordinating social interactions within OMUs in golden snub-nosed monkeys.