Screening for auditory dysfunction in infants by evoked oto-acoustic emissions

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Neonatal screening
• Otoacoustic emissions

Background:

• Infant hearing loss diagnosis is critical for development.
• Auditory brain-stem responses (ABR) are a standard but time-consuming diagnostic tool.
• Objective, non-invasive screening methods are needed for early detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To correlate evoked oto-acoustic emissions (EOAEs) with auditory brain-stem response (ABR) thresholds in infants.
• To evaluate the potential of EOAEs as a rapid screening tool for infant hearing impairment.
• To assess the presence of EOAEs in relation to ABR-defined hearing levels.

Main Methods:

• Auditory thresholds were determined using ABR in 30 normally-hearing and 16 sensorineural deaf infant ears.
• EOAEs were recorded in response to a 20-dB hearing level click in the same infants.
• Correlation analysis was performed between EOAE presence and ABR wave V thresholds.

Main Results:

• EOAEs were consistently present when ABR wave V thresholds were ≤30-dB hearing level.
• Infants with ABR thresholds >40-dB hearing level never exhibited EOAEs.
• EOAE recordings were significantly faster (5 minutes) than ABR (40 minutes).

Conclusions:

• EOAEs demonstrate a strong correlation with ABR thresholds in infants.
• EOAEs are a reliable indicator of normal or near-normal hearing in infants.
• The speed and non-invasive nature of EOAEs suggest their utility for infant hearing screening.