Question
How often should the RECD be measured in children?
Answer
It is recommended that the RECD be measured whenever a new earmold is obtained. Infants and young children require earmolds frequently due to the rapid growth of the outer ear. Since the size of the ear canal has changed, an RECD measurement is needed to capture the associated changes in ear canal acoustics so that they can be applied to the hearing instrument fitting.
Please note that with new earmolds, it is important to trim the tubing to the length that it will be when worn with the hearing aid prior to conducting audiometry and measuring the RECD. In addition, the RECD should be measured any time there is a change in middle ear status in one or both ears.
This Ask The Expert Question was taken from an article previous published on Audiology Online entitled, "Learning the Art to Apply the Science: Common Questions Related to Pediatric Hearing Instrument Fitting". See Bagatto and Moodie (2007) for additional information.
References:
Bagatto, M., Moodie, S., (2007, October 8). Learning the Art to Apply the Science: Common Questions Related to Pediatric Hearing Instrument Fitting. Audiology Online, Article 1886. Accessed from the Article Archives from www.audiologyonline.com/articles/article_detail.asp?article_id=1886
Marlene Bagatto, Au.D., is a Research Associate and Sheila T. F. Moodie, M.Cl.Sc., is a Research Audiologist at the National Centre for Audiology at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.
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