Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of chronic sinusitis on middle ear function. Methods 53 patients with chronic sinusitis and 10 healthy controls were involved in this study. All were determined by the acoustic immitance audiometer and pure tone audiometry. Results （1）A type was determined in 33 patients (62.26%), As type in 4 patients (7.55%), B type in 2 patients (3.77%), and C type in 14 patients (26.42%). 35 patients (66.04%) had normal air hearing threshold, 16(30.19%) had a little deafness and 2 (3.77%) had middle deafness.（2）There were significant differences between the chronic sinusitis and the controls, among stages in As, B and C types tympanograms, were peak pressure, acoustic stapedius reflex and gradient. But statical compliance showed no change. （3）There were significant differences between the chronic sinusitis and the controls, and among stages in air hearing threshold of each frequency of chronic sinusitis. Conclusions As the stage of chronic sinusitis proceeds, both abnormal tympanograms and the acoustic stapedius reflex vanishing greatly grow, and as the peak pressure trends to negative, the gradient raises, though the statitical compliance shows no or few changes, the hearing impairment is heavier than before.

Key words: Sinusitis, Tympanogram, Pure tone audiometry, Middle ear function