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Pediatric Otolaryngology

Low-Frequency Hearing Thresholds by Transducer in Pediatric Patients With TMPS

Monday, October 2, 2023
8:30 AM - 8:36 AM East Coast USA Time
Location: 207CD
Disclosure(s):
Anna Hsu: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Introduction: A prior study reported that commonly used insert earphones in ears with ventilation tubes may incorrectly show an apparent low frequency conductive hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to determine whether such differences may occur in children with tympanic membrane perforations.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted between January 2021 through August 2022 comparing hearing thresholds using RadioEar TDH50s 3045 supra-aural headphones and RadioEar IP30 insert earphones in 28 children with or without tympanic membrane perforations. The hearing thresholds between headphones and insert earphones were compared between the two groups (no TMP vs. TMP) using paired t-tests.

Results: At 250 Hz and 500 Hz, hearing thresholds were significantly higher when recorded with insert earphones than headphones in pediatric participants with tympanic membrane perforations. At 250 Hz, thresholds obtained with insert earphones were 14.2 dB (p < 0.0001) higher than thresholds obtained with headphones and 8.9 dB higher (p < 0.005) at 500 Hz. The average differences in hearing thresholds by transducer type increased with larger TMPs by 7.2-15 dB, though the difference was not significant (p > 0.1). Hearing thresholds were also significantly higher when recorded with insert earphones than headphones in participants without tympanic membrane perforations. Thresholds obtained with insert earphones were 3.3 dB (p < 0.05) higher than thresholds obtained with headphones at 250 Hz and 3.2 dB (p < 0.01) higher at 500 Hz.

Conclusions: Hearing thresholds were significantly higher when measured with insert earphones in participants with and without tympanic membrane perforations, though the standard error of mean was much higher in the group without TMPs. This suggests that interpretations of hearing loss with insert earphones may be incorrect, and headphones are better indicators of low-frequency hearing loss in pediatric patients with tympanic membrane perforations.