Wideband absorbance tympanometry using pressure sweeps: System development and results on adults with normal hearing

Yi Wen Liu, Chris A. Sanford, John C. Ellison, Denis F. Fitzpatrick, Michael P. Gorga, Douglas H. Keefe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

106 Scopus citations

Abstract

A system with potential for middle-ear screening and diagnostic testing was developed for the measurement of wideband energy absorbance (EA) in the ear canal as a function of air pressure, and tested on adults with normal hearing. Using a click stimulus, the EA was measured at 60 frequencies between 0.226 and 8 kHz. Ambient-pressure results were similar to past studies. To perform tympanometry, air pressure in the ear canal was controlled automatically to sweep between -300 and 200 daPa (ascending/descending directions) using sweep speeds of approximately 75, 100, 200, and 400 daPas. Thus, the measurement time for wideband tympanometry ranged from 1.5 to 7 s and was suitable for clinical applications. A bandpass tympanogram, calculated for each ear by frequency averaging EA from 0.38 to 2 kHz, had a single-peak shape; however, its tympanometric peak pressure (TPP) shifted as a function of sweep speed and direction. EA estimated at the TPP was similar across different sweep speeds, but was higher below 2 kHz than EA measured at ambient pressure. Future studies of EA on normal ears of a different age group or on impaired ears may be compared with the adult normal baseline obtained in this study.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3708-3719
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of the Acoustical Society of America
Volume124
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Acoustics and Ultrasonics

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