[A preliminary study of middle ear resonance frequency in normal hearing neonates]
1Hearing Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Abstract:
Objective: This study aims at establishing normative resonance frequency(RF) data in healthy neonates with normal middle ear function in order to provide reference values for evaluation of neonatal middle ear function in babies who failed newborn hearing screening.Method: Normative resonance frequency(RF) data was tested by Titan3.0. The mean, standard deviation, 95% of the reference range were analyzed.Result: A total of 61 infants(103 ears) aging from 3-21 days were enrolled in the study. The average value of middle ear RF is (283.32±37.87) Hz, 95% of the reference range is(209.09,357.55)Hz. There was no statistically significant difference among the three age groups(P>0.05) (Group Ⅰ: 3-7 days; Group Ⅱ: 8-14 days; Group Ⅲ: 15-21 days). In addition, no significant differences(P>0.05) were found between the genders, the ears and the two delivery modes.Conclusion:The average value of middle ear RF in normal-hearing neonates is lower than that in schoolchildren and adults, suggesting that neonatal middle ear is still in the process of maturation. The low value of normative neonatal RF might reduce the clinical value of middle ear RF in terms of diagnosing otitis media due to the fact that the lower middle ear RF value in otitis media may overlap with the normal range in neonates. Further study needs to be done to address this question in the near future.
Related Concept Videos
Hearing
Resonance
Anatomy of the Ear
Frequency-dependent Selection
Variation: Normal Distribution, Range, and Standard Deviation
Normal Distribution


