No unanimity of opinion exists in regard to staged operations in tympanoplasty. The controversy centers around the degree to which one should attempt to obtain hearing improvement in badly diseased ears. The major factor is the extent of the mucous membrane disease. We review the history of staging, the mucous membrane indications for staging, and the variations involved in canal-wall-down (CWD) procedures. The opinions of nineteen other otologists also are presented, nine of whom do not regularly or ever stage tympanoplasty.