TIEN-CHEN LIULin K.-N.2020-03-092020-03-0919990301-1569https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0032585924&doi=10.1159%2f000027697&partnerID=40&md5=e9b09e128ed422c1b374e7a0e9144388https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/474539The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of ear drum perforation on real-ear to coupler difference (RECD) in adults. RECD was measured using a probe tube microphone system in 22 patients with ear drum perforations. Twenty-two normal subjects served as controls. For normal subjects, RECD was in good agreement with the values reported in the literature. For the perforated ears, the RECD was up to 8 dB smaller in the frequency range from 0.5 to 1 kHz. There was no significant difference at frequencies below 0.25 kHz and above 1 kHz. A much larger intersubject variability was found in the experimental group. The mean intersubject standard deviation was 4.4 dB in the experimental group as contrasted with 2.2 dB in the control group. Neither the equivalent ear canal volume nor the perforation size appeared to be correlated with the degree of RECD reduction over lower frequencies. These results strongly suggest the need for individual RECD measurements, rather than using the average normal RECD, to appropriately compensate for the reduced transmission of lower-frequency sounds in fitting hearing aids for patients with ear drum perforations.Ear drum perforation; Probe tube microphone measurements; Real-ear to coupler difference[SDGs]SDG3adult; aged; article; clinical article; controlled study; eardrum perforation; female; hearing aid; human; male; medical literature; microphone; priority journal; sound pressure; sound transmission; acoustic impedance; auditory threshold; comparative study; eardrum perforation; hearing disorder; hospitalization; methodology; middle aged; physiology; pure tone audiometry; Acoustic Impedance Tests; Adult; Aged; Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Auditory Threshold; Female; Hearing Disorders; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Severity of Illness Index; Tympanic Membrane Perforationjournal article10.1159/000027697105458092-s2.0-0032585924