title: Autophony in patients with patulous eustachian tube: experimental investigation using an artificial middle ear.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the contribution of anatomical factors, such as the caliber of the patent eustachian tube (ET) and the volume of the middle ear cavity, on vocalized sound transmission to the inner ear.
  
  
  METHODS
  Model experiment using artificial middle ear.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the present model experiment, sound transmission from the pharynx to the inner ear under patulous conditions was affected by the caliber of the ET and by the mastoid volume, especially in the low-frequency region, that is, a larger caliber of the ET and smaller mastoid volume resulted in greater sound transmission from the pharyngeal space to the inner ear.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patulous symptoms may be more distressful in patients with poorly developed mastoid cavity than in those with well-aerated mastoid under similar conditions of patulous ET.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. kaw@mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tetsuaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawase
authors.forename: Shigeyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kano
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamanishi
authors.forename: Takuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Toshimitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wada
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004424:Ear Canal / Q000502:physiology; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D005064:Eustachian Tube / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008416:Mastoid / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D010614:Pharynx / Q000502:physiology; D013199:Stapes / Q000502:physiology