Eustachian tube pressure equilibration. Temporal analysis of pressure changes based on direct physiological recordings with an intact tympanic membrane

Eustachian tube function is important in pressure regulation of the middle ear. The efficacy or magnitude of pressure equilibration by tube openings should be determined by the gradient between middle ear and ambient pressure, but in theory also the duration of the tube opening may play a role. This...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hearing research 2013-07, Vol.301, p.53-59
Main Authors: Gaihede, Michael, Padurariu, Simona, Jacobsen, Henrik, De Greef, Daniël, Dirckx, Joris J.J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic Impedance Tests
Audiometry
Catheters
Ear, Middle - physiology
Eustachian Tube - anatomy & histology
Eustachian Tube - physiology
Humans
Mastoid - surgery
Parotid Gland - surgery
Pressure
Regression Analysis
Reproducibility of Results
Time Factors
Transducers
Transducers, Pressure
Tympanic Membrane - anatomy & histology
Tympanic Membrane - physiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Eustachian tube function is important in pressure regulation of the middle ear. The efficacy or magnitude of pressure equilibration by tube openings should be determined by the gradient between middle ear and ambient pressure, but in theory also the duration of the tube opening may play a role. This study employed direct measurements of middle ear pressure in patients, who after parotidectomy had a catheter inserted into the mastoid with a pressure transducer connected. Thus, monitoring of the middle ear pressure in response to experimentally induced pressure changes could be performed under physiological conditions with an intact tympanic membrane. A set of six experiments was performed in four healthy subjects with different pressure deviations, where the counter-regulation was recorded over 10 min's time frames; a total of 75 events of tube openings were recorded. The transducer had a high accuracy of ±0.1 daPa, and data were sampled at 10 Hz, so that detailed parameters for each tube opening event could be obtained: the pressure change, the pressure gradient, and the duration of the opening were determined. The pressure changes in response to Eustachian tube openings showed significant positive correlation to the pressure gradient and ambient pressure (p 
ISSN:0378-5955
1878-5891
DOI:10.1016/j.heares.2013.01.003