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The relationship between auditory threshold and evoked otoacoustic emissions
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Tübingen, Germany.
Summary
Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) and transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) show varying reliability in detecting hearing loss (HL). DPOAE amplitudes correlate better with HL severity than TEOAE, though TEOAE can categorize some audiometric patterns.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Otoacoustic Emissions
- Hearing Loss Detection
Background:
- Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are objective measures of cochlear function.
- Transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) are widely used diagnostic tools.
- Understanding their comparative efficacy in hearing loss (HL) assessment is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare TEOAE and DPOAE in normal and hearing-impaired ears.
- To assess the correlation between OAE measurements and hearing loss severity.
- To evaluate the reliability of TEOAE in predicting audiometric configurations.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of TEOAE and DPOAE in 44 normal hearing ears and 149 ears with cochlear hearing loss.
- Analysis of OAE incidence reduction and amplitude correlation with hearing loss.
- Evaluation of TEOAE's ability to predict audiometric patterns.
Main Results:
- DPOAE showed a stronger correlation with hearing loss severity (r = -0.3 to -0.6) compared to TEOAE (r = -0.1 to -0.5).
- A 50% OAE incidence reduction occurred at 10.5 dB HL for TEOAE versus 27 dB SPL for DPOAE.
- Approximately 40% of hearing-impaired ears were correctly categorized into audiometric patterns using TEOAE.
Conclusions:
- DPOAE generally offers better quantitative correlation with hearing loss than TEOAE.
- TEOAE measurements can provide some predictive value for typical audiometric patterns, especially for mid-frequency hearing loss.
- TEOAE may be preserved in cases of isolated low- or high-frequency hearing loss.