Otoacoustic-emission-based medial-olivocochlear reflex assays for humans.
Otoacoustic emission (OAE) tests of the medial-olivocochlear reflex (MOCR) in humans were assessed for viability as clinical assays. Two reflection-source OAEs [TEOAEs: transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions evoked by a 47 dB sound pressure level (SPL) chirp; and discrete-tone SFOAEs: stimulus-frequency otoacoustic emissions evoked by 40 dB SPL tones, and assessed with a 60 dB SPL suppressor] were compared in 27 normal-hearing adults. The MOCR elicitor was a 60 dB SPL contralateral broadband noise. An estimate of MOCR strength, MOCR%, was defined as the vector difference between OAEs measured with and without the elicitor, normalized by OAE magnitude (without elicitor). An MOCR was reliably detected in most ears. Within subjects, MOCR strength was correlated across frequency bands and across OAE type. The ratio of across-subject variability to within-subject variability ranged from 2 to 15, with wideband TEOAEs and averaged SFOAEs giving the highest ratios. MOCR strength in individual ears was reliably classified into low, normal, and high groups. SFOAEs using 1.5 to 2 kHz tones and TEOAEs in the 0.5 to 2.5 kHz band gave the best statistical results. TEOAEs had more clinical advantages. Both assays could be made faster for clinical applications, such as screening for individual susceptibility to acoustic trauma in a hearing-conservation program.
Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory, Box 900, Subase NLON, Box 900, Groton, Connecticut 06349-5900.
Lynne
L
Marshall
Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory, Box 900, Subase NLON, Box 900, Groton, Connecticut 06349-5900.
Judi A
JA
Lapsley Miller
Eaton-Peabody Laboratory of Auditory Physiology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, 243 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114.
John J
JJ
Guinan
Eaton-Peabody Laboratory of Auditory Physiology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, 243 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114.
Christopher A
CA
Shera
Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4307.
Charlotte M
CM
Reed
Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4307.
Zachary D
ZD
Perez
Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4307.
Lorraine A
LA
Delhorne
Consultant, Hirschanger 17, D-82319, Starnberg, Germany.
Paul
P
Boege
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001299:Audiometry; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D003051:Cochlea / Q000502:physiology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004525:Efferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D018072:Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer / Q000502:physiology*; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous / Q000502:physiology*; D012018:Reflex / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D065832:Superior Olivary Complex / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult