Evaluating children's hearing by DPOAEs at 1-10 kHz.
The efficacy of application of DPOAE (distortion product otoacoustic emission) in the evaluation of hearing in children was assessed. 106 children were checked by both DPOAE and ABR. The results show that DPOAE is highly effective in discriminating between hearing disorders and normal hearing. The correct classification rate of normal ears varied between 86.8-96.8% and ears with hearing loss (ABR threshold equal or above 20 dB HL) 87-100%. At the lower frequencies (1-2 kHz) the hit rate was lower. The results of this study suggest that the DPOAE can be used as a rapid hearing screening test for infants and children providing frequency specific information, mostly in the 3-10 kHz frequency range. The effectiveness of DPOAE at 1-10 kHz was evident in children with middle ear dysfunction and in detecting infants with possible high frequency hearing loss. In addition, high frequency DPOAE broadens the range typically available from click-evoked ABR measurements. This information is of increased clinical value not only in terms of speech and language development but also for detecting children who are at high-risk for possible hearing deterioration and who require early intervention.
Attias
J
J
Institute for Clinical Neurophysiology & Audiology, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petach-Tikva, Israel. attiasj@clalit.org.il
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D006320:Hearing Tests / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male