OBJECTIVE: We have researched the effects of nasal valve area on the inspiratory nasal sound spectra in this study.
STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We have spectral analyzed and recorded the inspiratory nasal sound in 22 healthy people with and without the Cottle maneuver.
RESULTS: We have found an increase in sound intensity at high frequency in the sound analyses of the subjects without the Cottle maneuver; whereas, a decrease in sound intensity at high frequency was found in subjects with the Cottle maneuver.
CONCLUSIONS: The nasal valve area plays an important role in the transformation of the nasal airflow from a laminar pattern to a more turbulent one. This condition affects nasal sound spectra and produces a marked shift upward in frequencies in the spectra. This method may be a new way of evaluating the nasal valve area.
EBM rating: C-4
© 2006 American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.
