[Contribution of cochlear acoustic emissions in pediatric audiology]

A new method is described for pediatric otologic exploration : cochlear acoustic emissions (CAE), and results reported of CAE recordings in 15 children with normal hearing and 31 infants at otoneurologic risk, suspected of having moderate or severe hypoacusia on conventional audiometry. Results were compared with those obtained by study of V wave threshold of AEP. The incidence of CAE in children and infants with normal hearing was 100%, the absence of CAE being related to a V ware threshold of AEP of 30 dB nHL or more. The CAE threshold is closely related to that of the V wave of AEP. The use of CAE, a rapid, non-invasive, objective audiometric method, could be a first line screening technic allowing separation, within several minutes, of a normal hearing population from one with a lesion of transmission or endocochlear apparatus with CAE V wave threshold of over 30 dB nHL. In addition, in children with a flat AEP the CAE allows study of the cochlear independently of auditory pathways.