Tympanometry

Tympanometry is a test that shows how well your middle ear is working. It does this by measuring how your eardrum moves.Tympanometry uses an instrument called a tympanometer to perform the test and record the results. The tympanometer has a probe that the audiologist will insert into your ear during the test.The probe has three ports

• An air port that sends air into your ear canal.
• A speaker port that sends a tone (sound energy) toward your eardrum.
• A microphone port that records information about how your eardrum moves in response to the air pressure and the sound energy.

Your ear consists of three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. Sound enters through your outer ear as energy or vibrations. The energy strikes your eardrum (located in your middle ear) and travels to your inner ear and brain. There, the energy gets transformed into electrical signals your brain understands as sound.

Tympanometry can help diagnose problems that arise along the middle ear part of the path where sound is conducted from your ear canal to your inner ear. Tympanometry is often used in children, but can be used at any age to determine from where in the hearing pathway hearing loss originates. Young children often develop fluid in their ears that can cause hearing problems if left untreated.