A comparison of results--acoustic susceptance and otolaryngology.

A screening study of hearing and middle-ear function was conducted on 2125 preschool children. Results are reported here for 504 of the subjects with static acoustic susceptance. Of these children, 380 had otolaryngological examinations. Static acoustic susceptance reliably provides an estimate of the stiffness component of the middle ear, but it does not predict middle ear abnormalities consistently. Three-year-old female subjects seem to show low values of static acoustic susceptance associated more with developmental factors than with middle ear disease.