Effects of interaural intensity and time disparity on transient evoked otoacoustic emissions

Monaural and binaural 11/s, 65 dB pe SPL clicks with interaural time and intensity disparities known to affect central auditory processing were used to study contralateral suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) in 10 subjects (20 ears). Psychophysical assessment of sound lateralization induced by the same stimuli was also conducted. TEOAEs were recorded to monaural (ipsilateral to the OAE recording probe) and to binaural clicks when clicks to the contralateral ear were synchronous and symmetrical in intensity, or, in the binaural intensity disparity conditions, synchronous but 10 dB higher or 10 dB lower in the ear contralateral to the OAE recording probe. When interaural time disparities were studied, the clicks to the contralateral ear were of the same intensity throughout, but 400 micros earlier or 400 micros later than to the ear with the probe. The TEOAE components at 13-15.8 ms showed suppression, relative to monaural responses, under all binaural conditions. This contralateral suppression did not correlate with the psychophysical findings. Suppression effects were more pronounced with binaural disparity than with binaurally symmetrical clicks. Thus, although contralateral click intensity was the same with time disparities, suppression was paradoxically enhanced compared to the binaurally symmetrical stimulation. To explain these results we propose that two factors are involved in TEOAE suppression with binaural clicks: (1) contralateral intensity and (2) interaural disparity (time or intensity). The latency of the suppressions observed, the effect of interaural disparity on these suppressions, coupled with the anatomical origin of the crossed efferent fibers and the disparity sensitivity of the superior olivary complex (SOC), all suggest SOC involvement in these TEOAE suppressions.