Effect of middle-ear pathology on high-frequency ear-canal reflectance measurements in the frequency and time domains

Wideband immittance and reflectance have not been well described at frequencies above 6-8 kHz, and past analyses of these measurements have focused on the responses to stimulus frequencies below 3-4 kHz, while ignoring high-frequency or time-domain information. This work uses a novel approach to measure reflectance that utilizes highfrequency signals and analyzes reflectance in both the frequency and the time domains. Experiments were performed with fresh normal human temporal bones before and after simulating various middle-ear pathologies. In addition to experimental data, novel model analyses were used to obtain fitted parameter values of middle-ear elements that vary systematically due to simulations and thus may have diagnostic implications. Our results show that high-frequency measurements improve temporal resolution of reflectance measurements, and this data combined with novel modeling techniques provides separation of three major conductive pathologies.