Anatomy and physiology of the external ear: implications for hearing aid fitting in infants.
BACKGROUND
This study describes the anatomic, physiologic and acoustic characteristics of the external ear in infants.


OBJECTIVE
To verify the implications of these differences in the selection of the physical and electroacoustic characteristics of the hearing aid for this age group.


METHODS
The resonance of the external ear was measured in 32 infants with ages varying from 0 to 18 months.


RESULTS
The results revealed an inverse relation between the peak frequency resonance and the infant's age.


CONCLUSIONS
The group of infants of 3 to 7 months, the intermediate group, did not present a statistically significant difference when compared to the group of infants of 8 to 18 months. The resonance, anatomy, impedance and volume of the external ear affect the hearing aid response.
Simonetti
Patricia
P
Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo. psimonet@uol.com.br
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D004424:Ear Canal / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn