Abstract
Prevalence of collapsible ear canals was determined for 80 elderly (60–79 yr) subjects drawn for a clinical population. Pure tone air conduction thresholds were established at 500-4000 Hz using standard TDH 39 earphones mounted in (1) an MX-41/AR supra-aural cushion and (2) an Eckstein, model CA circumaural cushion. A correction factor was established to insure equivalency between earphone cushions by testing 20 young adult subjects (20–29 yr). The criterion for a collapsible ear canal was a 15 dB or greater improvement in threshold at any one frequency when circumaural rather than MX cushions were used. None of the younger subjects showed this large a shift in threshold, but 29 elderly subjects (36%) did. These results indicate a higher prevalence for elderly persons than the 4% previously reported on a general clinical population [V. H. Hildyard and M. A. Valentine, Arch. Otlaryngol. 75, 422–423 (1962)]. Based on these data. measurement errors may cause inaccuracies in normative data of about 5 dB. It appears that circumaural cushions or bone conduction testing are needed to avoid errors in hearing tests on the elderly population.
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