The latencies of the 2f1-f2 DPOAE measured using phase gradient method in young adults and in workers chronically exposed to noise.
Distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) levels and latencies are accepted as a beneficial tool for investigating the micromechanics of the cochlea. Latencies for DPOAEs were examined in two groups of subjects: G1, consisting of 60 healthy young adults, aged 17-32 years, and G2 consisting of 74 miners, aged 19-35 years, exposed to mainly work-related noises (NE) for 2-15 years. This worker group was divided into three subgroups. DPOAE latency was measured with the swept-f2 phase-gradient method. The largest DPOAEs were recorded in GI and in miners with the least 2-4 year NE, who also exhibited latencies that were similar to GI. The lowest-level DPOAEs longer latencies were recorded in miners with 8-15 year NE. The latency analysis provided details that contribute toward a better understanding cochlear micromechanics as well as demonstrate that ears damaged by excessive NE show, unexpectedly, longer, based on notions of frequency filtering in damaged ears, rather than shorter group latencies, when classical notions about signal processing in the cochlea are considered.
Namysłowski
Grzegorz
G
Department of Otolaryngology, Silesian Medical Academy, Zabrze, Poland. hno@poczta.onet.pl
Morawski
Krzysztof
K
Trybalska
Grazyna
G
Urbaniec
Piotr
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone / Q000379:methods; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous / Q000502:physiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index