Pulsatile tympanic membrane displacement is associated with cognitive score in healthy subjects.

To test the hypothesis that pulsing of intracranial pressure has an association with cognition, we measured cognitive score and pulsing of the tympanic membrane in 290 healthy subjects. This hypothesis was formed on the assumptions that large intracranial pressure pulses impair cognitive performance and tympanic membrane pulses reflect intracranial pressure pulses. 290 healthy subjects, aged 20-80 years, completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test.

Does the Variability of Evoked Tympanic Membrane Displacement Data (V ) Increase as the Magnitude of the Pulse Amplitude Increases?

Objectives: Evoked tympanic membrane displacement (TMD) measurements, quantified by V , record small volume changes in the ear canal following stimulation of the acoustic reflex. V shows a correlation with intracranial pressure (ICP) and has been proposed as an option to non-invasively measure ICP. The spontaneous pulsing of the tympanic membrane, driven by the cardiovascular pulse, may contaminate the recordings and contribute to high measurement variability in some subjects.

Reference intervals for the evoked tympanic membrane displacement measurement: a non-invasive measure of intracranial pressure.

Objective: Evoked tympanic membrane displacement (TMD) is a non-invasive technique for assessing intracranial pressure (ICP). The aim of this study was to define reference intervals (RIs) in the healthy population.

Approach: Measurements were made in 154 healthy adults.