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Effect of Aging on Middle Ear Absorbance Characteristics Across Frequencies.

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Title: Effect of Aging on Middle Ear Absorbance Characteristics Across Frequencies.
Authors: Shivaprakash, Apoorva1 apoorvaprakash2110@gmail.com, Barman, Animesh1, Karuppannan, Arunraj1
Source: American Journal of Audiology. Jun2026, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p497-505. 9p.
Subject Terms: *Aging, *Comparative studies, Middle ear physiology, Middle ear anatomy, Repeated measures design, T-test (Statistics), Sex distribution, Scientific observation, Age distribution, Descriptive statistics, Presbycusis, Analysis of variance, Data analysis software, Impedance audiometry
Geographic Terms: India
Abstract: Purpose: Although age-related auditory changes are well recognized, limited studies have examined how aging affects middle ear mechanics, which can be assessed using wideband tympanometry (WBT). Unlike conventional tympanometry, WBT offers frequency-specific insights into middle ear acoustic transfer function. Ethnic differences in the anatomy of the external and middle ear such as canal length, ossicular dimensions, and stapes configuration may influence acoustic transmission. This study aimed to investigate the effect of aging on middle ear absorbance across frequencies using WBT. Method: A nonexperimental, standard group comparison design was used to test 60 ears from older adults (50-70 years of age) and young adults (20-30 years of age) with clinically normal hearing. Wideband absorbance was measured using click stimuli (0.2-8 kHz) at 100 dB peSPL under both ambient and peak pressure. Data were analyzed using mixed repeated-measures analysis of variance to assess the main and interaction effects of group, gender, frequency, and pressure condition; independent t test for between-group comparisons at each frequency; and paired t test between pressure within-group comparisons. Results: Both groups showed a similar wideband absorbance pattern. However, older adults exhibited a significantly higher absorbance at low frequencies (250-600 Hz) and a lower absorbance at high frequencies (2000-8000 Hz) compared to young adults. These differences indicate age-related alterations in middle ear mechanics, likely due to ossicular joint loosening and tissue degeneration. Pressure-related absorbance changes were more pronounced in younger adults at low to mid frequencies, suggesting that middle ear function in this group is more sensitive to pressure variations. Moreover, gender did not show a significant main effect on absorbance across frequencies. Conclusions: WBT appears to be a sensitive tool to detect subtle age-related changes that may not be evident with conventional tympanometry. The findings offer insights into age-related middle ear changes and suggest possible modification that might be considered during hearing aid fitting in older adults. Additionally, it also suggests that gender may not be a significant factor in assessing middle ear transfer function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of American Journal of Audiology is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Effect of Aging on Middle Ear Absorbance Characteristics Across Frequencies.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shivaprakash%2C+Apoorva%22">Shivaprakash, Apoorva</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> apoorvaprakash2110@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Barman%2C+Animesh%22">Barman, Animesh</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Karuppannan%2C+Arunraj%22">Karuppannan, Arunraj</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22American+Journal+of+Audiology%22">American Journal of Audiology</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p497-505. 9p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Aging%22">Aging</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Comparative+studies%22">Comparative studies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Middle+ear+physiology%22">Middle ear physiology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Middle+ear+anatomy%22">Middle ear anatomy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Repeated+measures+design%22">Repeated measures design</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22T-test+%28Statistics%29%22">T-test (Statistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex+distribution%22">Sex distribution</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scientific+observation%22">Scientific observation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Age+distribution%22">Age distribution</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Presbycusis%22">Presbycusis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Analysis+of+variance%22">Analysis of variance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Impedance+audiometry%22">Impedance audiometry</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22India%22">India</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: Although age-related auditory changes are well recognized, limited studies have examined how aging affects middle ear mechanics, which can be assessed using wideband tympanometry (WBT). Unlike conventional tympanometry, WBT offers frequency-specific insights into middle ear acoustic transfer function. Ethnic differences in the anatomy of the external and middle ear such as canal length, ossicular dimensions, and stapes configuration may influence acoustic transmission. This study aimed to investigate the effect of aging on middle ear absorbance across frequencies using WBT. Method: A nonexperimental, standard group comparison design was used to test 60 ears from older adults (50-70 years of age) and young adults (20-30 years of age) with clinically normal hearing. Wideband absorbance was measured using click stimuli (0.2-8 kHz) at 100 dB peSPL under both ambient and peak pressure. Data were analyzed using mixed repeated-measures analysis of variance to assess the main and interaction effects of group, gender, frequency, and pressure condition; independent t test for between-group comparisons at each frequency; and paired t test between pressure within-group comparisons. Results: Both groups showed a similar wideband absorbance pattern. However, older adults exhibited a significantly higher absorbance at low frequencies (250-600 Hz) and a lower absorbance at high frequencies (2000-8000 Hz) compared to young adults. These differences indicate age-related alterations in middle ear mechanics, likely due to ossicular joint loosening and tissue degeneration. Pressure-related absorbance changes were more pronounced in younger adults at low to mid frequencies, suggesting that middle ear function in this group is more sensitive to pressure variations. Moreover, gender did not show a significant main effect on absorbance across frequencies. Conclusions: WBT appears to be a sensitive tool to detect subtle age-related changes that may not be evident with conventional tympanometry. The findings offer insights into age-related middle ear changes and suggest possible modification that might be considered during hearing aid fitting in older adults. Additionally, it also suggests that gender may not be a significant factor in assessing middle ear transfer function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of American Journal of Audiology is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1044/2025_AJA-25-00140
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 9
        StartPage: 497
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Aging
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Comparative studies
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Middle ear physiology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Middle ear anatomy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Repeated measures design
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: T-test (Statistics)
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      – SubjectFull: Sex distribution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Scientific observation
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      – SubjectFull: Age distribution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
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      – SubjectFull: Presbycusis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Analysis of variance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis software
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      – SubjectFull: Impedance audiometry
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: India
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Effect of Aging on Middle Ear Absorbance Characteristics Across Frequencies.
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            NameFull: Shivaprakash, Apoorva
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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