What condition causes conductive hearing loss due to stapes fixation and is commonly called 'stapedial otosclerosis'?

• A. Otosclerosis
• B. Meniere disease
• C. Glomus tumor
• D. Otitis media

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is stapes fixation from otosclerosis, specifically when the disease affects the stapes footplate, causing stapedial otosclerosis. When the stapes cannot move freely, the middle ear can’t efficiently transmit sound to the inner ear, so air conduction drops while bone conduction remains relatively preserved. This yields a conductive hearing loss, which is the hallmark of stapes involvement in otosclerosis. The name “stapedial otosclerosis” highlights this fixation of the stapes and its impact on hearing.

Context helps: otosclerosis is a disorder of abnormal bone remodeling around the inmost ear bones; when it encases the stapes, it sticks and impedes movement at the oval window. An audiogram may show a Carhart notch at 2000 Hz, a clue often associated with this condition, and treatment can be a stapedectomy with prosthesis to restore vibration transmission.

Other conditions listed don’t match this specific mechanism. Meniere disease causes fluctuating sensorineural loss with vertigo, not a fixed conductive loss from stapes fixation. A glomus tumor can produce conductive loss if it disrupts the middle ear, but it’s usually accompanied by a visible mass and pulsatile tinnitus rather than the classic stapedial fixation. Otitis media causes conductive loss from fluid or membrane changes, but it’s not due to fixation of the stapes.