Tympanometers

We don't even have otoscopes in my district. We use pure tone audiometry for our hearing screenings and that's all.

It would be nice to have one, but my budget doesn't allow for it. We are not required to have otoscopes, but most schools in my district do have one.

I have a pretty inexpensive otoscope:

Amazon.com: 4th Generation Dr Mom LED POCKET Otoscope and both Adult and Pediatric Disposable Specula Tips and Case.: Industrial & Scientific

Lets me see just enough to let me know if something is going on that might require a referral. I really only use it if a student is complaining of unilateral ear pain (vs. what I call ear "congestion"). It let me see a bug stuck in a student's ear once!

I don't use during hearing screenings, though. Just pure tone audiometry.

Just curious...does tympanometer move us from the realm of screening to the diagnostic realm?

Our policy dictates the screen with the audiometer. I have never even thought about using my otoscope to look and see if there was a blockage or if the TM looked bulgy. It's so rare that a kid fails a hearing screen here.

Just curious...does tympanometer move us from the realm of screening to the diagnostic realm?

Our policy dictates the screen with the audiometer. I have never even thought about using my otoscope to look and see if there was a blockage or if the TM looked bulgy. It's so rare that a kid fails a hearing screen here.

Same. Even those I've had fail, I'll rescreen the next week and they have passed.

If I had the budget. I would love to have a tympanometer. I had one in my early days at my first school.

i also do pure tone. it's sufficient. In the years that i've been doing hearing screenings, i've only had one child that i've screened and found a hearing issue with. That child lost their hearing in one ear as a result of ear infections and now has an external cochlear device.

Our district does have a tymp and we do use it.

We are in colorado and per our hearing guidelines PreK-12 grade we test with pure tones first. Then if you are a district who has an audiologist that oversees your hearing screenings you can proceed with further testing if needed.

Our flow is:

Pure tones --- if no pass, then

Check with Otoscope (to ensure there is no obstruction) then

Perform an Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) test bilaterally. ---- If no pass, then

Perform a tymp on failing ear ---- if no pass, then

Refer to the district audiologist.

Honestly it is nice to have the tymp but they are stupid expensive. The audiologist gives us yearly in-services to use the instruments. We own it all though. Truly, we use the OAE much more commonly then the Tymp.

How do you teach your new school nurses on how to use the Tympanometer? I am a high school nurse and have only used it a handful of times. Is there somewhere we can direct our new nurse to help make her feel more confident in screenings?

Following thread for any answers to this. I lucked out that at one of my previous experiences I worked closely with a nurse who had worked in a pediatricians office for years so any kid she looked at, she'd have me look at and explain what was going on, but that only works in "luxury" 2 nurse environments, which are rare.

Just got a normal audiometer that I get calibrated once a year and works wonderfully.