INTRODUCTIONApproximately 20% to 30% of total population suffers from at least one type of allergic diseases in India. A study carried, over 30 years ago in Delhi reported around 10% allergic rhinitis and 1% asthma in 1964.1 There after later studies have reported that 20% to 30% of the population suffer from allergic rhinitis and of that 15% develop asthma.Approximately 20% of adults and children have seasonal or perennial allergic rhinitis.2 Despite its prevalence, the condition is often treated inadequately and becomes chronic. A chronic state of nasal inflammation and obstruction develops, frequently leading to more serious complications in both the upper and the lower airways and the middle ear. 3The eustachian tube provides an anatomic communication between the nasopharynx and the middle ear and is in a unique position to cause changes in the middle ear secondary to reactions in the nose.Upper respiratory tract allergy may cause some intrinsic and extrinsic mechanical obstruction in patients who have ABSTRACT Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common condition affecting 20-30% of the population. This condition affects not only the nose but also the sinuses and ears in many ways. Many studies are there worldwide implicating AR as a cause of serous otitis media. But only few studies have actually studied the tympanic membrane (TM) changes observed in patients with allergic rhinitis. The aim of this study is to document the TM changes observed in patients with AR and to correlate them with the duration of symptoms and also influence of prior treatment of AR on the TM changes observed. Methods: A total of 111 patients and so 222 ears were studied. A detailed history of the duration of symptoms and any prior treatment for AR was recorded. The TM changes seen were classified and recorded. The duration of disease and treatment were taken as grouping variables and the tympanic membrane changes were ranked and used as testing variable. The results were statistically analyzed using non-parametric test, Kruskal -Wallis test. Results: There was no statistically significant correlation between duration of AR and the TM changes observed. However there was a significantly less number of patients with TM retraction observed in the patients who had taken prior treatment compared to those patients who had taken no prior treatment. Conclusions: It is concluded that institution of early treatment may prevent development of Eustachian tube dysfunction and TM changes in patients with AR.

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> The hearing thresholds of young adults with no known hearing loss or noise exposure is expected to be closer to 0 dB HL, though with the increasing usage of recreational noise through personal amplification devices there is shift in thresholds noted. Some studies have highlighted the effect of these devices on the hearing thresholds and a general shift of thresholds towards 25 dB. Objective was to determine the audiometric thresholds of a screened sample of medical students with presumed normal hearing.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> A total of 103 medical students in the age group of 20 to 23 years were screened and subjected to PTA. The Pure tone average was calculated for air conduction (AC) and bone conduction (BC) separately and also for high frequencies (HF). The average for the female students was compared with that of male students. The right ear average was compared with that of left ear.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> There was a statistically significant difference with higher thresholds for males in BC and HF, however the difference in AC was not significant. Between the right and left ears, there was statistically significant elevation observed in BC average in the right ear, but no significant difference was found in the HF and AC thresholds.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> There is evidence of thresholds especially BC, shifting more towards 25 dB HL in young adults considered to have normal hearing. Early screening will help in identifying this and prevent further elevation by judicious use of mobile phones, personal music players and personal listening devices.</p>