ABSTRACT
Purpose:
To characterize the wideband reflectance and absorbance values in infants with middle ear integrity.
Methods:
The wideband reflectance and absorbance values for chirp and pure tone stimuli of 31 ears of infants aged 10 days to five months were analyzed. Inclusion criteria considered: 1000 Hz tympanometry. suggesting normal middle ear and the presence of transient evoked otoacoustic emission.
Results:
The reflectance values were shown to be greater for low frequencies, reducing to medium ones and increasing once again to high frequencies, while the absorbance values displayed an opposite behavior. No significant difference was verified between chirp and pure tone stimuli.
Conclusion:
A typical behavior of the measures, characterized by a higher reflectance at low frequencies and higher absorbance at medium frequencies was observed in the population studied.
Keywords:
Ear, middle; Acoustic impedance tests; Hearing loss, Conductive; Otitis media; Audiology
