What are Otoacoustic Emissions?
Otoacoustic emission (OAE) test is used to determine cochlear (inner ear) status. This information can be used to: • Screen hearing in neonates, infants, or difficult to test individuals with developmental disabilities, • Differentiate between the sensory and neural components of sensorineural hearing loss, • Estimate hearing sensitivity within a limited range, • Test for functional or feigned hearing loss. The test requires no behavioral response from the patient so it can be done on patients of all ages, and even a sleeping or comatose patient. The normal cochlea produces low-intensity sounds called OAEs. These sounds are produced by the cochlea (more specifically by the cochlea’s sensory outer hair cells as they expand and contract). OAEs measure the peripheral auditory system, which includes the outer ear, middle ear, and cochlea. The patient must have an unobstructed external ear canal and the absence of middle ear pathology to obtain a response. The patient must also be somewhat
Related Questions
- I was taught that Automated ABR is the ‘Gold standard’ for hearing screening. Why does BSC use Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) rather than Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (AABR)?
- Does smoking during pregnancy affect the amplitudes of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions in newborns?
- Are cochlear outer hair cells the origin of otoacoustic emissions?
