title: [Automatic screening tympanometry in school medicine].
abstract: The authors have tested 1690 ears of kindergarten and schoolchildren aged between 2 1/2 and 13 with a completely automatic tympanometer Model 85 AR American Electromedics whose most interesting characteristic is a supple eartip which adjusts to the concha without penetrating the external earduct. That technical advantage makes it a very non-aggressive instrument, easy to use for school medical screening. The results obtained are quite the same as those mentioned in the literature: 23% of the children tested have a pathological tympanogram. Three to 6 weeks later, 50% of these tympanograms remain abnormal. The breakdown by age group analysis shows a larger frequency of middle ear pathology between the ages of 2 1/2 and 6. The use of an automatic tympanometer for the screening of suspect cases seems to not only be highly suitable but needed for kindergarten children before beginning primary school.
mesh_terms: D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests / Q000379:methods*; D001530:Belgium; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening
vernacular_title: La tympanométrie automatique de dépistage en médecine scolaire.