Eustachian Tube Dysfunction and Wideband Absorbance Measurements at Tympanometric Peak Pressure and 0 daPa

Background: Although wideband absorbance (WBA) provides important information about middle ear function, there is limited research on the use of WBA to evaluate eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). To date, WBA obtained under pressurized condition has not been used to evaluate ETD. Purpose: The objective of the study was to compare WBA at 0 daPa and tympanometric peak pressure (TPP) conditions in healthy ears and ears with ETD. Research Design A cross-sectional study design was used. Study Sample A total of 102 healthy ears from 79 participants (mean age = 10.0 yr) and 43 ears from 32 patients with ETD (mean age = 16.0 yr) were included in this cross-sectional study. WBA was measured at 0 daPa (WBA(0)) and TPP WBA at TPP (WBA(TPP)). Data Collection and Analysis: WBA results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests with the Bonferroni correction. An analysis of variance with repeated measures was applied to the data. Results: WBA(0) was significantly lower in the ETD group than in the control group. The WBA(0) of the control group demonstrated a broad peak between 1.25 and 4 kHz, whereas the WBA(0) of the ETD group had a peak between 2.5 and 4 kHz. WBA(TPP) of the ETD group approached values close to that of the control group. In the control group, WBA(TPP) was only 0.06 to 0.09 higher than WBA(0), whereas in the ETD group, WBA(TPP) was 0.29 to 0.42 higher than WBA(0) between 0.6 and 1.5 kHz. A differential pattern of WBA at TPP relative to 0 daPa was observed between ears with ETD and ears with otitis media with effusion (OME) and negative middle ear pressure (NMEP). Conclusions: Hence, a comparison of WBA(0) and WBA(TPP) can provide potentially useful diagnostic information, and hence can be used as an adjunct tool to evaluate ETD. This is important especially in young children or some adults who are unable to perform maneuvers such as Toynbee or Valsalva during ETD assessment. Further research is needed to verify the results using test performance measures to determine whether WBA(0) and WBA(TPP) can objectively determine the presence of ETD or OME with NMEP.