Comparison of multifrequency tympanometry measurements in pilots and student pilots

Melisa Melek Tuncer, Comparison of Multifrequency Tympanometry Measurements in Pilots and Student Pilots, Başkent University Instute of Health Sciences M. Sc. Thesis in Audiology and Speech-Voice Disorders, 2014. During the ascent and descent of the airplane, middle ear pressure and the external pressure is balanced by the eustachian tube. When the eustachian tube functions blocked during the descent, the middle ear pressure can not be stabilized and barotrauma can be occur. One of the most common ear disease in aviators is barotrauma. As a result of barotrauma, ear pain, dizziness, hearing loss, serouse otitis media symptoms can occur. In the literature, the performance of conventional tympanometry on the characteristics of middle ear is still discussing. On the conventional tympanometry 226Hz prop tone is used often. Multifrequency tympanometry is an advantageous test method which can assess the resistance and permeability of the middle ear in a wide frequency internal by providing the analysis of the tympanograms which are obtained with different probe tones between 226 Hz and 2000 Hz. One of the important parameters of Multifrequency tympanometry is the resonant frequency. Under the presence of some specific pathologies; resonant frequency value is normal and gets lower or higher values when compared to the healthy ears. Although it is an advantageous test, it is a fact known by several investigators that Multifrequency tympanometry has not become widespread in clinical applications in our country as the world. Because of this the purpose of our study is showing the changes of multifrequency tympanometry depending on flight. For this reason, 140 pilot and student pilot measured who are between the ages 20-55 have a normal autoscopic examination at the Otorhinolaryngology Department and Audiology and Speech Disorders Unit of Baskent University. RF values taken from both ears of all the participants. The average of the student pilots RF right ears was found 882,95Hz, and their left average was found 862,50 Hz. The average of the who flight 200-3000 hour pilots RF right ears was found 609,22Hz, and their left average was found 605,88 Hz. The average of the who flight 3000-10000 hour pilots RF right ears was found 606,67Hz, and their left average was found 547,78 Hz. With this data, the change in the middle ear due to flights can reveal clearly. Also we hope that the resonance frequency value which is one of the important parameters of Multifrequency tympanometry will be an infrastructure for the studies which will investigate the effects of this value on the diagnosis of the pathologies. Key Words: Multifrequency tympanometry, barotrauma, aerotitis media, tympanometry, eustachi tube.