Detecting and remediating external meatal collapse during audiologic assessment

We present a case study in which the jaw/mouth-open procedure during air-conduction testing is employed to both detect and remediate external auditory meatal collapse. A prospective investigation was also conducted to compare the efficacy of the proposed jaw/mouth-open procedure with that of the traditional insert receivers in remediating meatal collapse during audiologic assessment. Meatal collapse was present in 6 of the 136 subjects evaluated. In these 6 subjects, the air-conduction thresholds under supra-aural headphones in the jaw/mouth-open condition were similar to those under insert receivers. We discuss the implications of this finding in clinical settings where insert receivers are not available.