Abstract
An animal preparation for investigation of middle ear and Eustachian Tube function is presented. A cannula is implanted in the mastoid air cell system of the rhesus monkey. A pressure air pump is connected to the outer end of the cannula. Also an acoustic impedance bridge (Madsen ZO-70) is adapted to the ear canal. This measurement system allows us to simultaneously record middle ear and ear canal air pressure as well as the acoustic impedance of the tympanic membrane and the middle ear. In this paper, recordings of the Eustachian tube function are reported. The change in acoustic impedance using different ear canal pressures has been studied. Our results show that with this preparation it is possible to establish an experimental animal model of human function which will permit us to investigate Eustachian tube and middle ear function under a variety of normal and pathological conditions.