title: Audiometry with nasally presented masking noise: novel diagnostic method for patulous eustachian tube.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. h-yoko@orl.med.tohoku.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: Tetsuaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawase
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Toshinori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Naohiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oshima
authors.forename: Mitsuko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suetake
authors.forename: Toshimitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: 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