Wideband Tympanometry (WBT)

Wideband Tympanometry (WBT)
Mohsen Ahadi, Ph.D.,
Department of Audiology, Rehabilitation Research center, School of
Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences.
ahadi.m@iums.ac.ir

The wideband tympanometry (WBT) assesses the middle ear function with a transient wideband stimulus in order to capture the middle ear behavior at a wide range of frequencies. Data in the literature suggest that the WBT has more sensibility to detect middle ear disorders than the traditional tympanometry

With a simple probe “click” that covers the 226 to 8000 Hz range instead of a probe tone that only measures at 226 Hz, hundreds of tympanograms are visualized in an illustrative 3D landscape. With a single pressure sweep (as in traditional tympanometry) Wideband Tympanometry allows comprehensive analysis of middle ear status over a frequency range that includes the full speech spectrum.

In this context, pathologies, which might be more easily identified/monitored by WBT, include otosclerosis, flaccid eardrums, ossicular chain discontinuity with semicircular canal dehiscence, and negative middle ear pressure with middle ear effusion.