This study aimed to compare the outcomes of ventilation tube insertion and balloon Eustachian tuboplasty as a first line treatment for otitis media with effusion in children.

This was a retrospective evaluation of 62 children, 30 cases that underwent balloon Eustachian tuboplasty (group 1) and 32 cases that underwent ventilation tube insertion (group 2), from July 2016 to April 2018.

The pre-operative air–bone gap of patients who underwent balloon Eustachian tuboplasty was 15–35 dB (mean: 27.6 ± 8.2 dB). The mean pre-operative air–bone gap decreased to 9.6 dB after a mean of 14.4 months (p < 0.05). The air–bone gap decreased from 25.6 dB to 17.6 dB in the ventilation tube group. There was a significant improvement in the air–bone gap values in both groups; however, this decrease was significantly higher in the balloon Eustachian tuboplasty group (p = 0.043).

Balloon Eustachian tuboplasty may be an effective and safe method for use as a first-line treatment of otitis media with effusion in children.

Eustachian tube dysfunction is a poorly defined condition associated with various symptoms and it can predispose to middle-ear disease. Balloon dilation Eustachian tuboplasty has been proposed as a treatment for Eustachian tube dysfunction.

To evaluate the subjective and objective outcomes of balloon dilation Eustachian tuboplasty in patients with recurrent, previously treated chronic Eustachian tube dysfunction.

The study was conducted on 11 patients (13 ears) who had undergone previous unsuccessful medical and surgical treatment. Tympanometry was the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures included pure tone audiogram assessment and seven-item Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire score.

Balloon dilation Eustachian tuboplasty resulted in significant improvements in 11 patients’ subjective but not objective outcome measures.

The objective abnormality and subjective symptoms in Eustachian tube dysfunction may represent two distinct pathological processes, which may nevertheless influence and exacerbate each other.