Date of Graduation

Spring 2013

Degree

Doctor of Audiology

Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Committee Chair

Wafaa Kaf

Abstract

A Bordetella hinzii model of otitis media (OM) in the mouse was developed following a spontaneous outbreak of this pathogen. The goal of the present study was to compare the utility of middle ear wideband absorbance (WBA) tympanometry and inner ear distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) measures in detecting the presence of OM in the mouse. Ten C57BL/6J and ten CBA/CaJ mice were used in the present study. Experimental mice received nasal inoculations of B. hinzii while control mice received sterile phosphate buffer saline. WBA and DPOAE were measured at weekly intervals. Otitis media proved to be strain-dependent, affecting 7 of 8 C57 mice, but none of the CBA strain. Both physiological measures revealed significant changes associated with the presence of OM. DPOAE amplitudes were decreased in some mice by 1 week post-inoculation. An analysis of WBA, plotted as a function of frequency and pressure using paired samples t-test, revealed significant reduction between baseline and final measures in the frequency range of 6-8 kHz at ear canal pressure of -200 to -300 daPa. Non-infected mice exhibited no changes in either measure. Otitis media was confirmed histologically in all mice judged as infected by physiological tests. In summary, both DPOAE and WBA may provide useful non-invasive methods for detecting and following the pathogenesis of OM in the mouse.

Keywords

Bordetella hinzii, otitis media, mouse models, bacterial biofilm, wideband tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions

Subject Categories

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Copyright

© Kelly Kay Green

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