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Wideband acoustic immittance measures: developmental characteristics (0 to 12 months)
Joseph Kei1, Chris A Sanford, Beth A Prieve
1Hearing Research Unit for Children, Division of Audiology, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia. k.kei@uq.edu.au
Insights
Wideband acoustic immittance (WAI) in infants shows developmental changes in the first year. More normative data is needed to confirm findings on infant auditory system maturation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric audiology
- Developmental otolaryngology
Background:
- The peripheral auditory system undergoes rapid development in infancy.
- Postnatal development of the external and middle ear impacts auditory function, including wideband acoustic immittance (WAI).
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an overview of wideband acoustic immittance (WAI) studies in newborns and infants from a developmental perspective.
- To highlight the need for further normative data in infant audiology.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing wideband acoustic immittance (WAI) studies focusing on newborns and infants.
- Analysis of normative WAI data across different infant age groups (0-12 months).
Main Results:
- Normative WAI data in newborns are generally consistent across studies.
- Discrepancies exist in some WAI measures, potentially due to sampling, methodology, or instrumentation differences.
- Maturation effects are evident when comparing WAI data between infant age groups.
Conclusions:
- Accurate WAI measurements in infants can be challenging due to probe seal and ear canal area estimation.
- Additional age-specific longitudinal and cross-sectional normative WAI data are required for infants from birth to 12 months.
- Consolidating existing data and validating new findings are crucial for understanding infant auditory development.
Abstract:
Rapid developmental changes of the peripheral auditory system in normal infants occur in the first year of life. Specifically, the postnatal development of the external and middle ear affects all measures of external and middle ear function including wideband acoustic immittance(WAI). This article provides an overview of WAI studies in newborns and infants from a developmental perspective. Normative WAI data in newborns are fairly consistent across studies. However, there are discrepancies in some WAI measures between studies, possibly due to differences in sampling, methodology, and instrumentation. Accuracy of WAI measurements is compromised when a good probe seal cannot be maintained during testing or an inaccurate estimate of the cross-sectional area of the ear canal of newborns occurs. Comparison of WAI data between age groups from 0 to 12 months reveals maturation effects. Additional age-specific longitudinal and cross-sectional normative WAI data for infants from birth to 12 months are required to validate and consolidate existing data.
