Poster Session #1: UC Ballroom

Serially recorded otoscopy and tympanometry in children in day care

Author Information

Meredith Levinson
Braden Warehime

Presentation Type

Poster

Faculty Mentor’s Full Name

Al Yonovitz

Faculty Mentor’s Department

Communicative Sciences and Disorders

Abstract / Artist's Statement

Otitis Media (OM), known commonly as an “ear infection,” is one of the most prevalent childhood diseases in children under two years of age in the U.S. By the age of five years, nearly all children will experience at least one episode of OM. It is crucial that physicians and audiologists be able to accurately diagnose OM so that a child may receive a referral to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) physician and receive proper treatment. At the present moment, the gold standard in OM diagnosis uses measurements of middle ear pressure obtained from tympanometry along with visual inspection of the eardrum using a hand-held otoscope. A hand-held otoscope provides a subjective evaluation of the state of the ear drum. In this study, we will analyze video otoscopy and tympanometric data from 200 children obtained every two weeks over a four month period. Measurements will be obtained from otoscopic images quantified by image analysis techniques using colorimetric data from the eardrum. An inflamed eardrum will appear redder in color compared to a normal eardrum. We will compare eardrum metrics with the type of tympanogram obtained for each child. Children with OM will have smaller gradients and flatter tympanograms possibly indicating fluid in the middle ear. This research project is unique in that we will be analyzing the otoscopic results objectively with quantitative data to indicate the ear drum’s redness, rather than measuring the color solely through subjective observation. Through these methods a more accurate basis for ENT referral for OM can occur.

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Apr 13th, 11:00 AM Apr 13th, 12:00 PM

Serially recorded otoscopy and tympanometry in children in day care

UC Ballroom

Otitis Media (OM), known commonly as an “ear infection,” is one of the most prevalent childhood diseases in children under two years of age in the U.S. By the age of five years, nearly all children will experience at least one episode of OM. It is crucial that physicians and audiologists be able to accurately diagnose OM so that a child may receive a referral to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) physician and receive proper treatment. At the present moment, the gold standard in OM diagnosis uses measurements of middle ear pressure obtained from tympanometry along with visual inspection of the eardrum using a hand-held otoscope. A hand-held otoscope provides a subjective evaluation of the state of the ear drum. In this study, we will analyze video otoscopy and tympanometric data from 200 children obtained every two weeks over a four month period. Measurements will be obtained from otoscopic images quantified by image analysis techniques using colorimetric data from the eardrum. An inflamed eardrum will appear redder in color compared to a normal eardrum. We will compare eardrum metrics with the type of tympanogram obtained for each child. Children with OM will have smaller gradients and flatter tympanograms possibly indicating fluid in the middle ear. This research project is unique in that we will be analyzing the otoscopic results objectively with quantitative data to indicate the ear drum’s redness, rather than measuring the color solely through subjective observation. Through these methods a more accurate basis for ENT referral for OM can occur.