Evaluation of middle ear resonance frequency in children with cerebral palsy

Gülçin DÖNGEL, Evaluation of Middle Ear Resonance Frequency in Children with Cerebral Palsy, Baskent University Health Science Institute, Graduate Thesis of the Clinical Audiology Programme , 2018 Aim: Changes in swallowing functions may occur as a result of reduced motor functions in children with cerebral palsy (CP). It is possible that these changes will also affect eustachian tube functions. This can also cause changes in middle ear resonance frequency (RF). This study aimed to determine middle ear RF values of children with CP and to provide an infrastructure for more extensive studies to be done in the future. Material and Methods: A total of 60 children (120 ears) were included in the study at the Audiology Unit of Baskent University Konya Research and Teaching Center, in the age range of 5-15 years, who had no hearing loss and had normal otoscopic examination. Study group consist of 30 children with CP and control group consist of 30 healthy children. The RF values obtained from both ears of all participants were evaulated. Results: There was no significant age and gender difference between the groups. Children with CP had a right ear RF average of 981 ± 369 and a left ear RF average of 1099 ± 398. The right ear RF average of the control group was 1080 ± 328 and the left ear RF average was 1190 ± 296. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of RF values. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study showed that the RF values of children with CP is not different from the RF values of healthy children in their age group. From these findings, it can be said that the multifrequency tympanometry can be safely used in the patient population with CP in order to differentiate the known diseases that cause changes in RF values such as otosclerosis and otitis media with effusion. Key Words: Resonance frequency, multifrequency tympanometry, eustachian tube, cerebral palsy