[Diagnostics of the cochlear amplifier by means of DPOAE growth functions]

Extrapolated DPOAE growth functions can be applied in ENT diagnostics for a specific assessment of cochlear dysfunction. In screening newborn hearing, they are able to detect transitory sound conductive hearing loss and thus help to reduce the rate of false positive TEOAE responses in the early postnatal period. Since DPOAE growth functions are correlated with loudness functions, DPOAEs offer the potential for basic hearing aid adjustment, especially in children. Extrapolated DPOAE I/O-functions provide a tool for a fast, automated frequency-specific and quantitative evaluation of hearing loss. However, DPOAE diagnostics is limited to a hearing loss of 50 dB HL. Thus, a combined measurement of DPOAE and AMFR would be useful.