Eustachian tube function in young children without a history of otitis media evaluated using a pressure chamber protocol

Abstract

Conclusions: Protocol limitations were identified and accounted for in the analysis. Percent gradient equilibrated (PGE) was affected by driving gradient direction in a similar manner to other efficiency measures. A finer resolution of possible age-related changes in eustachian tube opening efficiency is expected with the application of more sophisticated statistical models to the complete dataset at study end. Objective: To report the results of an interim analysis for an ongoing study designed to characterize the age-related changes in eustachian tube opening efficiency measured using a pressure chamber protocol in children without a history of middle ear disease. Methods: To date, 41 children aged 3 years without a history of otitis media have been enrolled in a longitudinal study of the age-related changes in eustachian tube function and evaluated at yearly intervals between 3 and 7 years of age. Eustachian tube opening efficiency, the percent of the applied pressure gradient equilibrated by swallowing, was measured by repeat tympanometry during a pressure chamber protocol. Data (120 tests) were analyzed using an ANOVA with variance partitioned by age (3 through 6 years), gradient direction (positive/negative), and ear (left/right). Results: PGE was higher for left ears and positive driving gradients, but was not different among age groups.

Keywords::

• Age effects
• methodology
• gradient direction
• eustachian tube opening

Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (P50 DC007667), and by the Hamburg and Eberly Endowments to the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh. These sources provided funding for the study but did not have input into the study design or the analyses and interpretation of the data.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.