Audiometry with nasally presented masking noise: novel diagnostic method for patulous eustachian tube.
OBJECTIVE
Nasal-noise masking audiometry was developed to assess the acoustic transfer function from the nasopharyngeal cavity to the middle ear via patulous eustachian tube (ET).


METHODS
Prospective.


METHODS
Tertiary referral center.


METHODS
Twenty-seven ears of 18 patients with patulous ET and 20 ears of 10 healthy subjects with no history of ear disease or complaints of aural symptoms.


METHODS
Audiometric measurement was conducted with and without masking noise presented in the nasal cavity.


RESULTS
The masking effect of nasally presented noise caused elevation of the threshold for the tone presented in the external auditory canal. This threshold elevation was significantly greater, particularly in the lower-frequency region, in ears with patulous ET and was decreased to the normal range after obstructive treatment of the patulous ET.


CONCLUSIONS
Nasal-noise masking audiometry is a simple and effective way to identify patulous ET.
Hori
Yoko
Y
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. h-yoko@orl.med.tohoku.ac.jp
Kawase
Tetsuaki
T
Hasegawa
Jun
J
Sato
Toshinori
T
Yoshida
Naohiro
N
Oshima
Takeshi
T
Suetake
Mitsuko
M
Kobayashi
Toshimitsu
T
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001299:Audiometry / Q000379:methods*; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005064:Eustachian Tube / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D009622:Noise; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011446:Prospective Studies