Middle ear impedance studies in elderly patients implications on age-related hearing loss.

INTRODUCTION Controversies arise with respect to functioning of the middle ear over time. OBJECTIVE To assess changes in middle ear impedance that may be related to aging, and/or if there was an association of these changes with those of the inner ear in the elderly patients. METHODS Cross-sectional, comparative study of elderly patients managed in ear, nose and throat clinics. A structured questionnaire was administered to obtain clinical information. Pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, and acoustic reflexes were performed. Comparative analyses were performed to detect intergroup differences between clinico-audiometric findings and middle ear measures, viz. tympanograms and acoustic reflexes. RESULTS One hundred and three elderly patients participated in the study; 52.4% were male, averagely 70.0±6.3 years old, age-related hearing loss in 59.2%, abnormal tympanograms in 39.3%, absent acoustic reflex in 37.9%. There was no association between age and gender in patients with abnormal tympanograms and absent acoustic reflex. Significantly more patients with different forms and grades of age-related hearing loss had abnormal tympanometry and absent acoustic reflex. CONCLUSION Some abnormalities were observed in the impedance audiometric measures of elderly patients, which were significantly associated with parameters connected to age-related hearing loss.