Tympanometry and the stapedial reflex in the first five days of life.
Tympanometry was carried out on 45 full term neonates. It proved to be a straightforward procedure. The acoustic reflex was elicited using contralateral white noise stimulation at 70-85 dB and with a probe tone of 600 Hz. It was not detectable in the first hours of life, but was present in 100% of cases over 12 h of age. The initial absence of the reflex may be due to a transient conductive loss which resolves rapidly or, more likely, immaturity of the reflex itself at birth.
Geddes
N K
NK
Department of Otolaryngology, Stobhill General Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland.
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D012022:Reflex, Acoustic