[Modifications of evoked otoacoustic emissions: study of age groups]

Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) recordings make it possible to assess cochlear normality objectively by informing of the integrity of active mechanisms. TEOAE recorded in different age groups give us information for diagnostic procedures and reflect the effects of cochlear aging and degenerative processes. Two thousand three hundred sixty-seven TEOAE recordings were made in persons with normal hearing ranging in age from 3 days to 50 years. The findings did not vary from the first year of life until the fourth decade, when TEOAE indicated cochlear aging, although the hearing threshold remained unchanged.