[Symptoms of the experimental auditory tube blockage in man (author's transl)]

The sound of an inhaling apparatus with a vibrator, introduced in both meatusses of the nose, is better heard in both ears during deglutition. This demonstrates a permeability of the Eustachian tubes. The same principle is used in the sonomanometry. We examined this phenomenon in five test persons, in whom we blocked by a pomphus the pharyngeal ostium of the tube during 90--150 min. On this occasion we found the following results: a ) The sound of the vibrator is always heard though the unblocked tube. b) There is a lateralisation in the Weber's hearing test immediately after the blockage of the tube, whereas the Rinne' test mains positive. c) The middle ear pression falls 1 mm H2O per min.