title: Pressure test in normal subjects.
abstract: The application of pressure to the middle ear changes the normal inner ear pressure in animal experiments. In this study we tested the effect of exposure to under- or overpressure on hearing in a total of 78 normal ears (40 subjects) in a soundproof pressure chamber. [After exposure to underpressure, a 10 dB or more gain in 3 ears and loss in 2 ears for at least one of the test frequencies was observed in 38 ears. After exposure to overpressure, a 10 dB or more gain in 5 ears and loss in 1 ear for at least one of the test frequencies was observed in 40 ears.] The characteristics of transferred inner ear pressure during a series of exposures to underpressure seemed to be similar to those during exposures to overpressure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Shiga University of Medical Sience, Otsu, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitahara
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kodama
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Izukura
mesh_terms: D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D001273:Atmosphere Exposure Chambers; D001274:Atmospheric Pressure; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000502:physiology; D005064:Eustachian Tube / Q000502:physiology; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009622:Noise / Q000517:prevention & control; D011312:Pressure