Displacement of the gerbil tympanic membrane under static pressure variations measured with a real-time differential moire interferometer.

It is thought that chronic middle ear disease ultimately causes changes in the stiffness and elasticity of the tympanic membrane, but it is unknown whether such changes occur early in the course of the disease. In order to analyze mechanical changes in different parts of the tympanic membrane, a full field moire interferometry technique was utilized to measure the shape and real-time displacement in response to positive and negative pressure gradients applied across the tympanic membrane. The measurements were performed on fresh isolated temporal bones from the Mongolian gerbil. In order to gain sufficient visual access to the pars tensa for the moire measurements, the tympanic bulla was opened, the tensor tympani muscle and the incudo-stapedial joint were cut, and part of the medial wall of the tympanic cavity was removed. The malleus and incus and their ligaments were kept intact. The specimens were kept continuously humidified with an evaporator or in a humid chamber, since otherwise the tympanic membrane dries out in a few minutes when its medial surface is exposed. This desiccation reduces the elasticity and cause shrinkage which results in a reduction of the height of the cone constituted by the pars tensa. Profiles of the tympanic membrane at rest and under different pressure conditions were extracted from the moire interferograms. The tympanic membrane and ossicular complex exhibit a hysteresis effect as differences in the displacement patterns under identical pressure gradients during the loading and the unloading phase; a residual displacement of the pars tensa was for instance seen after the pressure gradient across the tympanic membrane was eliminated.