- Tympanometry: indications for the test
- Tympanometry: preparation for the test
- Tympanometry: the course of the examination
- What is tympanometry for?
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Tympanometry is a test that assesses the susceptibility of the eardrum to pressure changes in the external auditory canal (that is, the part of the outer ear responsible for transmitting sounds collected from the environment through the auricle to the eardrum). How does this hearing test work?
Tympanometry( impedance audiometry ) is an objective, non-invasive method of examiningmiddle ear . It measures the reflection of a sound wave from the eardrum during a change in pressure in the ear canal and determines the acoustic impedance of the ear (the stiffness of the eardrum). Tympanometry is performed when various types of hearing loss and paresis of the facial nerve are suspected.
Tympanometry: indications for the test
- conductive hearing loss with an unchanged eardrum or with visible fluid in the tympanic cavity
Contraindication to tympanometry is the absence of the ear drum.
- conductive hearing loss with poor patency of the Eustachian tube
- conductive hearing loss with inability to assess its cause in other tests
- sensorineural hearing loss
- paresis of the facial nerve
Tympanometry: preparation for the test
Before performing tympanometry, you need to undergo an otolaryngological examination, including assessment of the patency of the Eustachian tube, as well as subjective hearing tests - tonal audiometry and verbal audiometry, i.e. speech understanding using verbal tests.
Tympanometry: the course of the examination
The test is painless, it takes several minutes. It consists in introducing an external measuring probe into the ear canal, which allows you to change the pressure in the range from -400 to + 400 mm of the water column. You are sitting during the examination. The doctor puts a plug in the ear canal that seals the canal, to which the wires from the tympanometer go. Changes in pressure cause deflection of the tympanic membrane, recorded by the tympanometer, and then visualized in the form of graphs. The final result is given in the form of a description. During the test, you should not talk or swallow as the ear canal must be sealed. You may feel discomfort due to pressure changes in the linevolume and loudness of the audio output.
What is tympanometry for?
Tympanometry allows you to assess the condition of the middle ear: stiffness of the ossicular system (in the presence of otosclerosis or tympanosclerosis), the presence of airless or fluid in the tympanic cavity (in chronic obstruction of the Eustachian tube or in post-inflammatory conditions of the middle ear). This test also allows the assessment of the inner ear, using the reflex of the stapes muscle to the administered acoustic stimulus and the phenomenon of equalization of the volume in the so-called cochlear hearing loss.