Wideband tympanometry – a new method to evaluate the middle ear

Wideband tympanometry (WBT) is a relatively new assessment method of the middle ear. Using wideband click WBT provides measurements at frequencies from 226–8000 Hz with more diagnostic information without any additional effort. The traditional impedance audiometry offers information acquired only at a single frequency (mostly 226 Hz or 1000 Hz). WBT provides both traditional tympanograms and tympanograms at multiple frequencies as well as new information that is retrieved from resonance frequency, absorbance graph, and averaged wideband tympanogram. WBT seems to be more specific and sensitive method to evaluate a conductive hearing loss than traditional impedance audiometry, and might be helpful in diagnosing such pathologies as: middle ear effusion, negative middle ear pressure, otosclerosis, ossicular discontinuity, tympanic membrane perforation, upper semicircular canal dehiscence. WBT seems to be a very promising additional diagnostic tool used for hearing screening in newborns and diagnosing minor middle ear pathologies that disturb otoacoustic emissions. WBT is considered to be a better predictor for middle ear problems in newborns and infants than 1000 Hz tympanometry. The wideband absorbance measurements can be performed at ambient as well as peak pressure. Ambient pressure absorbance measurements do not require any pressure changes in the external auditory canal, thus it seems to be a perfect method for post-surgical monitoring of middle ear condition. However, WBT has its limitations, it presents large inter-subject variability in both absorbance graphs and resonance frequency values, and therefore WTB should be more extensively studied. WBT se