Pediatric Acoustic Immittance

This group of tests measure the functional integrity of the eardrum and middle ear anatomy. These tests have become routine as they are sensitive to middle ear disorders even in persons with little or no hearing. Another advantage is that the test requires no behavioral response from the patient, making it an excellent test for young children.

The first part of the test is the Tympanogram. An ear tip is placed in the canal and air pressure in the canal is varied above and below atmospheric level. The air pressure changes cause the eardrum, middle ear bones and associated muscles to react in specific ways. Depending on the resulting pattern, it indicates various disorders such as fluid in the middle ear (otitis media) link, discontinuity of the ossicular chain link, perforated eardrum link and Eustachian tube dysfunction link.