[Screening tympanometry in detection of conductive deafness in children].

Tympanometric examination of the air pressure in the middle ear and of the mobility of the tympano-ossicular system was carried out on 82 otologically "healthy" children. Pathologic tympanogram was found in 25.00 per cent of examined ears, i.e. in 10.37 per cent of ears with tympanogram type B and in 14.63 per cent of ears with tympanogram type C. The tonal audiometric results in children with pathologic tympanogram revealed the reduction of conductive hearing from 21 to 30 dB. In patients with tympanogram type B thanks to myringotomy a dense mucos and serous secretion was found in the middle ear of 88.24 per cent of children. In the authors' opinion tympanometry is a very advantageous method in early detection of diseases of the middle ear and deafness in children, especially of the forms with poor symptomatology and evolutive processes. The authors plead for the routine use of screening tympanometry in otologic practice, which should prevent conductive deafness in children and improve both therapeutic and social rehabilitation of children with damaged conductive hearing.