ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to obtain tympanometric normative data for Malay preschoolers and compare them between genders. Non-pathological factors such as age, gender and ethnicity may influence tympanometric normative data. Guidelines for middle ear screening by American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) are based on Caucasian children population and may not be applicable to Malay children population. The tympanometric parameters measured were peak compensated static acoustic admitan (peak Ytm), volume ear canal (Vea) and tympanometric width (TW). Onehundred and sixty-one Malay pre-schoolers (eighty boys and eighty-one girls) participated in this study. However only fourty-five boys and fourty-six girls (163 out of 182 ears) had fulfilled the study inclusion criteria which include normal otoscopic findings, pass hearing screening and presence of ipsilateral acoustic reflex at 1000 Hz. Two-way Mixed ANOVA to compare the mean tympanometric parameters of boys and girls showed no significant difference for the mean peak Ytm ( p > 0.05), mean Vea [( p > 0.05), mean TW (p > 0.05). Thus data from the two groups were combined. Overall, the mean peak Ytm was 0.55 ± 0.28 mmhos, mean Vea was 0.90 ± 0.40 cm3, and mean TW was 104.68 ± 32.08 daPa. The 90th percentile values for peak Ytm, Vea and TW were 0.27 to 1.18 mmhos, 0.45 to 1.65 cm3 and 59.60 to 149.80 daPa consecutively. This current study suggests that the data obtained are applicable to Malay preschoolers but gender-specific norms are not necessary. Application of each value of TW > 200 daPa and Vea > 1.0 cm3 by ASHA on Malay preschoolers will cause under referral rate and over-referral rate consecutively.