Risk Factors and Potential Causes of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction in Adults
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01251432. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
Risk Factors and Potential Causes of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction in Adults With Clinically Diagnosed Chronic Otitis Media With Effusion and/or Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
This research study measures how well the Eustachian tube works and looks directly at the anatomy of the Eustachian tube in adults who have had tympanostomy tubes surgically inserted into their eardrums because they have been diagnosed as having either "otitis media" or "poor Eustachian tube function". The Eustachian tube is a biologic tube that connects the back of the nose to the middle ear (the airspace located behind your eardrum). That tube is usually closed, but can be opened by swallowing and other activities. Periodic openings of the Eustachian tube allow air to flow between the nose and middle ear which keeps the pressure of gas in the middle ear at the same level as that of the atmosphere, a condition required for good hearing. In children and adults, middle-ear diseases such as otitis media with effusion (the buildup of fluid within the middle ear) and a form of temporary hearing loss (conductive hearing loss) occur if the Eustachian tube does not open, does not open frequently enough or is always open (called a patulous Eustachian tube). A diagnosis of these different conditions can be made using standard, clinical tests of Eustachian tube function and the Eustachian tube can be visualized where it enters the back of the nose using a specialized telescope called an endoscope. Some scientific reports suggest that the cause of poor Eustachian tube function in an individual can be determined by studying the anatomy of the Eustachian tube at the back of the nose and the movements of the Eustachian tube in that area during swallowing, talking and other activities using an endoscope. In this study, the investigators plan to explore the relationship between the results of the standard Eustachian tube function tests and those for the anatomy and function of the Eustachian tube in adults with a disease condition likely to be caused by poor Eustachian tube function. Also, there are a number other disease conditions (examples: nasal allergy, acid reflux disease) that are related to poor Eustachian tube function and it is possible that these conditions and their effect on Eustachian tube function can be treated with medicines. Therefore, the investigators also plan to evaluate enrolled persons for those conditions. It is expected that if the results of the standard Eustachian tube function tests can be explained by the anatomy of the back of the nose and Eustachian tube, the functional anatomy (movements during swallowing etc) of the Eustachian tube or the presence of allergy and or/acid reflux disease, new medical and/or surgical treatments can be developed to improve Eustachian tube function and "cure" or treat the associated middle-ear diseases.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT01251432
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Observational
- Phase
- Not listed
- Enrollment
- 30 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
Not listed
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years to 75 Years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- May 31, 2010
- Primary completion
- Apr 30, 2016
- Completion
- Apr 30, 2016
- Last update posted
- Nov 3, 2016
2010 – 2016
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Ear Physiology Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 15213 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01251432, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Nov 3, 2016 · Synced Sep 5, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT01251432 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.