The behavior of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions during and after postural changes

Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) were studied in humans during and after postural changes. The subjects were tilted from upright to a recumbent position (head down 30 degrees) and upright again in a 6-min period. The SOAEs were recorded continuously and analyzed off-line. The tilting caused a change in the SOAE spectrum for all subjects. Frequency shifts of 10 Hz, together with changes of amplitude (5 dB) and width (5 Hz), were typically observed. However, these changes were observed in both directions (including the appearance and disappearance of emission peaks). The most substantial changes occurred in the frequency region below 2 kHz. An increase of the intracranial pressure, and consequently of the intracochlear fluid pressure, is thought to result in an increased stiffness of the cochlear windows, which is probably mainly responsible for the SOAE changes observed after the downward turn. The time for the spectrum to regain stability after a postural change differed between the two maneuvers: 1 min for the downward and less than 10 s for the upward turn.