Audiological findings through tympanometry and audiometry were correlated with pathological findings involving the tympanic membranes and the nasopharynx in 232 patients (406 ears) with various hearing disorders in order to determine the probability of a conductive hearing deficit when only tympanogram and clinical findings are known. These measures hold special import to patients in whom exact evaluations of pure tone hearing thresholds are not possible (ie, in small infants and in patients with severe hearing losses in low frequency ranges).