Distortion product otoacoustic emissions: Twelve months experience in a diagnostic clinic

Over the past twelve months we have measured the distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) of 626 patients with various aetiologies of sensori-neural hearing loss. The results were compared to the contour of the audiogram to assess the test's ability to predict configuration of hearing loss. The DPOAE amplitudes from 317 patients were compared to the behavioural hearing threshold at 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz. The data demonstrate a relationship between emission size and degree of cochlear hearing loss. The findings indicate that the test can be a useful tool to predict degree of cochlear hearing loss as well as the contour of the audiogram in up to 70% of cases. The test was not very effective to screen for retro-cochlear lesion as only 18% demonstrated DPOAE that differentiated them from cochlear lesions.