title: Early diagnosis of hearing loss: otoacoustic emissions evoked by distortion products and pure-tone audiometry: Preliminary findings.
abstract: Literary studies underline the effectiveness of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), which are not affected by the collaboration of the subject examined, in the early diagnosis of hearing loss. Aim of the study is to compare the objective technique of DPOAEs with respect to the pure-tone audiometry in early diagnosis of hearing loss.
  
  
  
  The clinical research was carried out on 852 workers. All subjects underwent pure-tone audiometry, tympanometry and distortion products.
  
  
  
  The results show: a) a prevalence of subjects with impaired DPOAEs higher than the prevalence of subjects with impaired audiometries in the studied samples; and, after division by gender: b) a prevalence of subjects with impaired DPOAEs higher than the prevalence of subjects with impaired audiometries only in men; c) a prevalence of impaired DPOAEs and of impaired audiometries in men higher than in women.
  
  
  
  The results suggest the higher effectiveness of DPOAEs compared to pure-tone audiometry in making an early diagnosis of hearing loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capozzella
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Loreti
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sacco
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Casale
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pimpinella
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andreozzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bernardini
authors.affiliation: Catedra Libre Salude y Seguridad en el Trabajo, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Nieto
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Scala
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Schifano
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonomi
authors.affiliation: Department of Sensory Organs, U.O.C. Audiology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Altissimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Sio
authors.affiliation: Department of Sensory Organs, U.O.C. Audiology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cianfrone
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tomei
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Rosati
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sancini
mesh_terms: D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous
keywords: Hearing loss; Otoacoustic emissions evoked by distortion products; Pure-tone audiometry