Pressurized Wideband Absorbance Findings in Healthy Neonates: A Preliminary Study

Purpose

The present study aimed to establish normative data for wideband absorbance (WBA) measured at tympanometric peak pressure (TPP) and 0 daPa and to assess the test–retest reliability of both measurements in healthy neonates.

Method

Participants of this cross-sectional study included 99 full-term neonates (165 ears) with mean chronological age of 46.7 hrs (SD = 26.3 hrs). Of the 99 neonates, 58 were Malay, 28 were Indian, and 13 were Chinese. The neonates who passed high-frequency (1 kHz) tympanometry, acoustic stapedial reflex, and distortion product otoacoustic emission screening tests were assessed using a pressurized WBA test (wideband tympanometry). To reduce the number of measurement points, the WBA responses were averaged to 16 one-third octave frequency bands from 0.25 to 8 kHz. A mixed-model analysis of variance was applied to the data to investigate the effects of frequency, ear, gender, and ethnicity on WBA. The analysis of variance was also used to compare between WBA measured at TPP and 0 daPa. An interclass correlation coefficient test was applied at each of the 16 frequency bands to measure the test–retest reliability of WBA at TPP and 0 daPa.

Results

Both WBA measurements at TPP and 0 daPa exhibited a multipeaked pattern with 2 maxima at 1.25–1.6 kHz and 6.3 kHz and 2 minima at 0.5 and 4 kHz. The mean WBA measured at TPP was significantly higher than that measured at 0 daPa at 0.25, 0.4, 0.5, 1.25, and 1.6 kHz only. A normative data set was developed for absorbance at TPP and at 0 daPa. There was no significant effect of ethnicity, gender, and ear on both measurements of WBA. The test–retest reliability of WBA at TPP and 0 daPa was high with the interclass correlation coefficient ranging from 0.77 to 0.97 across the frequencies.

Conclusions

Normative data of WBA measured at TPP and 0 daPa for neonates were provided in the present study. Although WBA at TPP was slightly higher than the WBA measured at 0 daPa at some frequencies below 2 kHz, the WBA patterns of the 2 measurements were nearly identical. Moreover, the test–retest reliability of both WBA measurements was high.

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