Wideband Tympanometry as a Non-behavioral Test of the Speech-weighted Middle Ear Transfer Function.

There is a need for a non-behavioral clinical test that provides an assessment of how speech is conducted through the middle ear for the optimization of middle ear implants. These implants utilize the functionality of the human middle ear and require adequate speech conduction through the middle ear chain. Consequently, the clinical test of this degree of speech transfer can contribute to the pre-operative indication for middle ear implants.

Wideband Tympanometry (WT) is a non-invasive diagnostic tool for the clinical assessment of the condition of the middle ear. Unlike classical tympanometry, WT tests the impedance of the middle ear system as a function of both pressure and frequencies. Consequently, a WT measurement contains many times more information about the functionality of the middle ear than classical tympanometry and is ideally suited as a diagnostic tool for the clinical assessment of speech transfer through the middle ear. The WT measurements will be correlated with the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) collected in normally hearing individuals and patients with isolated conductive hearing loss. This index is a measure of speech transfer through the middle ear. Consequently, a correlation of the WT measurements with the SII addresses the need for a non-behavioral clinical test of speech transfer through the middle ear.

Additionally, WT measurements will be performed longitudinally in cochlear implant candidates, one of the populations that can benefit from the developed clinical test. These longitudinal WT measurements, which will be performed both pre- and post-operatively, allow for the evaluation of the impact of middle ear surgery on the predicted SII.