[Comparative study of tonal liminal audiometry and evoked otoacoustic emissions in school screening programs]

Early diagnosis of deafness is an important objective during the pediatric age. This study compares two different audiological techniques, otoacoustic emissions (OEA) and tonal audiometry (AUD), to be used as screening methods in school revisions programmed for 6 years olds. The correlation between techniques is very good (97% of the positives and 92% of the negatives). The OEA method is objective and faster if the environmental noise is low; if not, AUD seems to be more reliable. At this age (6 years), the otoacoustic emissions have characteristics of the adult age.