Effect of olivocochlear bundle section on evoked otoacoustic emissions recorded using maximum length sequences

Presenting clicks according to maximum length sequences (MLS) enables transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) to be recorded at very high stimulation rates. As the click rate is increased from 40 clicks/s up to a maximum rate of 5000 clicks/s there is a reduction in TEOAE amplitude that reaches an approximate asymptote at 1500 clicks/s. One hypothesis put forward to explain this MLS 'rate effect' is that ipsilateral efferent activity is involved. To test this hypothesis TEOAEs were recorded from both ears of five patients who had undergone a unilateral vestibular nerve section--a surgical procedure which also entails sectioning the olivocochlear bundle. TEOAEs were recorded conventionally at 40 clicks/s and using MLS stimulation at 5000 clicks/s. Increasing the rate from 40 to 5000 clicks/s was found to reduce the amplitude of the TEOAEs by equivalent amounts in ears ipsilateral and contralateral to a vestibular nerve section as well as in the ears of normal-hearing adults. Since an ear ipsilateral to a vestibular nerve section should have no efferent innervation the hypothesis that efferent activity is the major mechanism involved in the MLS rate effect is rejected. Instead, the possibility that intracochlear processes are the underlying mechanism will now be investigated.