Improving the Diagnosis of Pediatric Otitis Media Utilizing Wideband Tympanometry
The Boys Town National Research Hospital Research Champions Network is proud to host a series of presentations featuring Boys Town Researchers addressing issues of concern for clinicians. Join us for the first talk in this series with Gabrielle Merchant, Ph.D.
Otitis media is the most common childhood disease, but there is limited consensus with respect to treatment options. One reason for this is that we lack evidence-based methods to determine which treatment option is most appropriate for a given patient. The goal of this work is to develop methods to differentiate variations in diagnostically important otitis media characteristics to better guide treatment decisions.
This talk will highlight recent findings from our laboratory relating to the impact of middle-ear effusion characteristics on both behavioral and physiologic audiological measures in children with otitis media, as well as the diagnostic potential of wideband tympanometry in characterizing both these variations and associated conductive hearing loss objectively and non-invasively.
Program Agenda
12:00PM – Introductions
12:05PM – Presentation by Dr. Gabrielle Merchant
12:45PM – Questions and Discussion
12:55PM – Survey Completion
1:00 PM – Presentation Concludes
Learner Outcomes
- Describe the effect of middle-ear effusion volume on audiological outcomes in children with otitis media.
- Discuss the utility of wideband tympanometry in characterizing the volume of middle-ear effusion in ears with otitis media.
- Explain the potential of wideband tympanometry as an objective and non-invasive estimate of hearing loss caused by otitis media.
About Gabrielle Merchant, Ph.D.
Dr. Merchant is an audiologist and hearing scientist and Director of the Translational Auditory Physiology and Perception Laboratory at Boys Town National Research Hospital. Her translational hearing research focuses on auditory mechanics, auditory perception and advancing evidence-based practice through improved clinical diagnostic tools. Her laboratory has a particular focus on pediatrics, conductive hearing loss, and wideband acoustic immittance. She is passionate about work and efforts that will support the translation of these measurements to clinical practice.
Boys Town National Research Hospital is approved by the American Academy of Audiology to offer Academy CEUs for this activity. The program is worth a maximum of 0.1 AAA CEUs. Academy approval of this continuing education activity is based on course content only and does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products, or clinical procedure, or adherence of the event to the Academy's Code of Ethics. Any views that are presented are those of the presenter/CE Provider and not necessarily of the American Academy of Audiology.