Otoacoustic emission (otoacoustic emission, OAE) is a non-invasive, objective, easy hearing test that allows to detect cochlear sensorineural hearing loss. If the middle ear is working properly, the sound will reach the inner ear. How is this audiological examination done?
Otoacoustic emission( OAE ) otherwiseotoacoustic emissionis based on the registration of a very quiet signal which is produced in the cochlea (the most important part of the inner ear, resembling a snail shell) due to the contraction of external hair cells.
The OAE study is based on a physiological phenomenon of the same name discovered in 1978 by David Kemp.
Otoacoustic emission: indications
- assessment of the condition of the inner ear,
- hearing screening for babies,
- topodiagnostics of hearing impairment,
- monitoring of hearing changes after the use of ototoxic drugs,
- functional deafness detection,
- tinnitus diagnostics.
otoacoustic emission: test process
The test is performed in a soundproofed room. The test probe is placed in the ear of the examined person, in which there is a loudspeaker transmitting the sound and a sensitive microphone receiving the otoaccession from the cochlea.
In newborns and infants, the examination is best performed in physiological sleep (it shortens the examination time), but it is not necessary.
A short sound transmitted through the loudspeaker in a properly functioning ear causes the signal to be returned, registered by the receiver. Thanks to this, it is possible to assess the condition of the cochlea and to examine the reactions of the inner ear to soft sounds. If there is no feedback, it may be a hearing impairment.
Otoemission does not give information about the efficiency of hearing, or the place where a possible defect occurs. In addition, if there are any disturbances in the middle ear, this may prevent the signal from being recorded. This hearing test is most often performed on newborns and toddlers.
The result is issued after the test in the form of a graph (DP-gram) and a description.