Screening Tympanometry in Infants and Two-Year-Old Children

Abstract

In 150 newborn children tympanometry was repeated each third month until the age of one year. In 222 two-year-old children repetitive tympanometric screenings were performed in November, February, May and August, and the alterations in the tympanogram types were analyzed. There was found a very low stability of the tympanogram types and about 50% of the ears changed type between the investigations. The type A tympanogram (0 to − 99 mm H₂O) was the most stable type, only 52% of the ears changed type. All ears with type C₁ (− 100 to − 199 mm H₂O), 97% of ears with type C₂ (−200 to −350 mm H₂O), and 84% of the ears with type B (flat curve) changed tympanogram type at least once at the four evaluations. This large variability in the tympanometric conditions, most often caused by a change in the frequency and severity of catarrhalia, makes the prognostic value of the screening tympanometry very small.