Otoacoustic emissions in children with otitis media with effusion

Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) are transmitted from the cochlea to the ear canal via the middle ear and the transmission properties of the middle ear directly influence OAE characteristics. The purpose of this study was to establish the mechanisms of changes occurred in middle ear by tympanometric, audiometric and OAE examination.

Audiometric and tympanometric examination were performed and otoacoustic emissions were recorded from 22 normal ears and 52 ears with middle ear effusions and repeated 3 months later.

Results of the air conduction in study group were significantly different from the control group and we found significant recovery in 3 months. When we analysed the DPOAE evaluation results in our study, some of the DPOAE parameters were found to be different between the control and the study group at low frequencies. Changes in the amplitude, especially at low frequencies, were statistically significant after 3 months.

The results of this study revealed that measurement of otoacoustic emissions, especially distortion product otoacoustic emissions, is helpful in evaluating the condition of middle ear during the treatment.