Abstract
Contralaterally elicited acoustic reflex growth functions were obtained from both ears of patients with unilateral idiopathic facial paralysis. Comparison was then made between the normal and impaired reflex arc by means of a simple calculation procedure. The resultant acoustic reflex magnitude (ARM) score was used to evaluate the symmetry of these responses, thereby providing an objective quantification of the functional status of the impaired reflex arc. These measures were found to be highly correlated with both the degree and rate of recovery of the facial motor impairment.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alford
BR
Jerger
JF
Coats
AC
: Neurophysiology of facial nerve testing . Arch Otolaryngol
97 : 214 –219 , 1973 .
2.
Pulec
JL
: Bell's palsy: Diagnosis, management and results of treatment . Laryngoscope
84 : 2119 –2140 , 1974 .
3.
Wilber
L
: Acoustic reflex measurement—procedures, interpretation, and variables , in
Feldman
A
Wilber
L
, (eds): Acoustic Impedance and Admittance—The Measurement of Middle Ear Function . Baltimore , Williams & Wilkins Co , 1976 , pp 197 –216 .
4.
May
M
: Facial paralysis, peripheral type: A proposed method of reporting . Laryngoscope
80 : 331 –390 , 1970 .
5.
Beedle
R
Harford
E
: A comparison of acoustic reflex growth and loudness growth in normal and pathological ears . J Speech Hear Res
16 : 271 –280 , 1973 .
6.
Ruth
RA
Niswander
P
: Acoustic reflex latency as a function of frequency and intensity of eliciting stimulus . J Am Audiology Soc
2 : 54 –60 , 1976 .