The museum is located at Lin Hall, The Ridges. For more , please visit the online Calendar of Events . A new test developed by a Nebraska researcher and studied by scientists at Ohio University could offer doctors a better diagnostic tool for middle ear infections and other hearing disorders than currently available exams. The technique, called wide-band reflectance, could help clinicians understand how middle ear infection, hardening of the ear bones, facial nerve paralysis or other middle ear disorders impact a patient's hearing at various frequencies. The wide-band reflectance technique, developed by Douglas Keefe of the Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Neb., uses a series of eight chirping sounds emitted into the ear canal to determine how well the middle ear reacts to sounds that span the human speech range.
Computer software analyzes the data, graphing the middle ear's performance.
The procedure takes only a few seconds. For more information, please read the full text of this news release .