The diagnostic value of tympanometric width in identifying middle ear disorders

Tympanometry is a valuable test to measure the mobility of the tympanic membrane and middle ear function in an objective manner. Clinically, the middle ear status is determined based on the tympanogram types derived from typical tympanometric parameters, including static admittance, tympanometric peak pressure , and ear canal volume. Nevertheless, a further tympanometric parameter, tympanometric width (TW), is not commonly used for hearing diagnosis. In this paper, we report a case demonstrating the superiority of TW in detecting middle ear disorders. The TW parameter can be a useful indicator to verify the pure tone audiometry results and should be used regularly for identifying middle ear problems leading to conductive hearing loss.