Screening for auditory dysfunction in infants by evoked oto-acoustic emissions.
Auditory threshold using auditory brain-stem responses (ABR) was determined in 30 ears from normally-hearing infants and 16 ears from infants with sensorineural deafness. In the same population, evoked oto-acoustic emissions (EOAEs) in response to a click of 20-dB hearing level were recorded. The presence of EOAEs was correlated with ABR thresholds. Evoked oto-acoustic emissions were always present when ABR wave V threshold was equal to or below 30-dB hearing level. On the contrary, infants with ABR thresholds higher than 40-dB hearing level never had EOAEs. As the recordings of EOAEs could be obtained more rapidly than ABR thresholds (average duration: five minutes vs 40 minutes), EOAEs could hold some promise as an objective, easy, and noninvasive test for screening auditory dysfunction in infants.
Bonfils
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INSERM, University de Montpellier I Hôpital St Charles, France.
Uziel
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Pujol
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D001933:Brain Stem; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn