Contralateral Ear Occlusion for Improving the Reliability of Otoacoustic Emission Screening Tests

Joint Authors

Harrison, Robert V.
Papsin, Emily
Harrison, Adrienne L.
Carraro, Mattia

Source

International Journal of Otolaryngology

Issue

Vol. 2014, Issue 2014 (31 Dec. 2014), pp.1-8, 8 p.

Publisher

Hindawi Publishing Corporation

Publication Date

2014-01-12

Country of Publication

Egypt

No. of Pages

8

Main Subjects

Medicine

Abstract EN

Newborn hearing screening is an established healthcare standard in many countries and testing is feasible using otoacoustic emission (OAE) recording.

It is well documented that OAEs can be suppressed by acoustic stimulation of the ear contralateral to the test ear.

In clinical otoacoustic emission testing carried out in a sound attenuating booth, ambient noise levels are low such that the efferent system is not activated.

However in newborn hearing screening, OAEs are often recorded in hospital or clinic environments, where ambient noise levels can be 60–70 dB SPL.

Thus, results in the test ear can be influenced by ambient noise stimulating the opposite ear.

Surprisingly, in hearing screening protocols there are no recommendations for avoiding contralateral suppression, that is, protecting the opposite ear from noise by blocking the ear canal.

In the present study we have compared transient evoked and distortion product OAEs measured with and without contralateral ear plugging, in environmental settings with ambient noise levels <25 dB SPL, 45 dB SPL, and 55 dB SPL.

We found out that without contralateral ear occlusion, ambient noise levels above 55 dB SPL can significantly attenuate OAE signals.

We strongly suggest contralateral ear occlusion in OAE based hearing screening in noisy environments.

American Psychological Association (APA)

Papsin, Emily& Harrison, Adrienne L.& Carraro, Mattia& Harrison, Robert V.. 2014. Contralateral Ear Occlusion for Improving the Reliability of Otoacoustic Emission Screening Tests. International Journal of Otolaryngology،Vol. 2014, no. 2014, pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-457170

Modern Language Association (MLA)

Papsin, Emily…[et al.]. Contralateral Ear Occlusion for Improving the Reliability of Otoacoustic Emission Screening Tests. International Journal of Otolaryngology No. 2014 (2014), pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-457170

American Medical Association (AMA)

Papsin, Emily& Harrison, Adrienne L.& Carraro, Mattia& Harrison, Robert V.. Contralateral Ear Occlusion for Improving the Reliability of Otoacoustic Emission Screening Tests. International Journal of Otolaryngology. 2014. Vol. 2014, no. 2014, pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-457170

Data Type

Journal Articles

Language

English

Notes

Includes bibliographical references

Record ID

BIM-457170