Tympanometric Screening Norms for Adults.

The purpose of this study was to reexamine the Margolis and Heller (1987) normative tympanometric data (also American Speech-Language-Hearing [ASHA], 1990 interim norms) using a strict control over subject age and gender. Normative values for peak, compensated static acoustic admittance (Peak Ytm), acoustic equivalent volume (Vea), and tympanometric width (TW) were determined for 102 young adults with normal hearing. Relative to the Margolis and Heller normative values, significant differences were found for Vea and TW. Although statistically significant, these differences were small and of little clinical importance. However, significant and clinically important gender differences in young adults were observed for each of the tympanometric measures. Compared to males, females had lower Peak Ytm values, smaller Vea values, and higher TW values.