Most people who experience sensations of blockage, fullness, muffled hearing or heaviness in their ears are surprised to learn that the problem is not with their hearing but with pressure in the middle ear.
What Ear Pressure Testing Is
When checking for ear problems, audiologists will typically carry out a clinic test such as tympanometry to check for movement in the eardrum. This test can show any problems in the middle ear caused by disruption of equal pressure on both sides of the eardrum.
How Tympanometry Works in Practice
Using a soft probe in the ear is sealed gently in place. Then the air pressure is varied while a low-frequency tone is produced in the ear. All this takes less than a minute and is completely painless. The results are plotted as a curve on a graph called a tympanogram.
What the Curve Shapes Mean
A Type A tympanogram is a peaked curve indicating normal function of the eardrum. A flat line, Type B, indicates there is fluid in the middle ear or a perforation of the eardrum. A peak that is shifted to one side of the curve indicates Eustachian tube dysfunction where pressure is not able to equalize correctly.
Conditions the Test Can Detect
Type B results are consistent with glue ear (middle ear with fluid) and will produce a flat trace as the eardrum is stiff and inflexible due to the presence of fluid. Type C results suggest a problem with the Eustachian tube and indicate that the pressure in the middle ear is not equalising. A flat trace is also produced by a perforation in the eardrum.
What Happens If Results Are Abnormal
After carrying out the clinic test for ear pressure your audiologist will be able to explain the results of the test to you. The results of the test can sometimes need to be monitored, or for further investigation you may be referred to an ENT specialist. Sometimes it is necessary to clear ear wax before retaking the test for ear pressure in Bristol. If you are looking for Audiologist Bristol, see //www.imperialhearing.com/audiologist-near-me/bristol/.
Knowing what to expect from the test will make your experience of the test so much easier.
