Laser Doppler vibrometry of the middle ear in humans: derivation dependence, variability, and bilateral differences

Irina Arechvo, Nikoloz Lasurashvili¹, Matthias Bornitz¹, Zurab Kevanishvili², Thomas Zahnert¹

Department of Ear, Nose, and Throat Diseases, Vilnius University Emergency Hospital, Lithuania, ¹Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Medicine, Dresden Technical University, Dresden, Germany, ²Center of Audiology and Hearing Rehabilitation, Tbilisi, Georgia

Key words: laser Doppler vibrometry; derivation dependence; variability; bilateral differences.

Summary. Objective. Derivation dependence, inter- and intrasubject/intertest variability, bilateral differences of the eardrum vibration characteristics have been investigated using laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV).

Material and methods. A total of 31 normally hearing adults were examined. In each subject, both ears were consecutively stimulated by the chirp acoustic stimulus that covered 500–3700-Hz frequencies. The laser beam was directed to and the reflection was consecutively picked up from the tympanic membrane surface.

Results. LDV curves derived from different eardrum loci possessed dissimilar characteristics. The derivation area dependence was particularly apparent for the stimulus frequency constituents above 1500 Hz. The intersubject variability of LDV parameters exceeded the intrasubject/intertest one. The intersubject divergences looked selectively distinct for the frequencies over 2000 Hz. Under repeated recordings, LDV parameters remained stable. The intertest differences, if appeared, concerned predominantly the magnitudes of separate frequency bands. LDV waveforms registered by experienced and beginner investigators were alike. Bilaterally derived LDV curves regularly differed from each other. In individual cases, the bilateral divergences approximated the intersubject deviation.

Conclusions. The derivation area on the eardrum should be taken into account when estimating the actual LDV recording. Over repeated recordings in separate individuals, LDV waveforms are stable while the experience of investigator has slight if any influence on the principal LDV characteristics. Due to bilateral differences in the middle ear transfer function, in LDV testing of the ear suspected to the pathology, LDV recording from the opposite healthy ear could hardly be taken as an appropriate reference sample.

Correspondence to I. Arechvo, Department of Ear, Nose, and Throat Diseases, Vilnius University Emergency Hospital, Šiltnamių 29, 04130 Vilnius, Lithuania. E-mail: arechvo@dtiltas.lt

Received 24 October 2008, accepted 6 November 2009