Skull Base 2006; 16 - A030
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-958564

Normative Data of Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emissions in Children and Adults

Dimitrios Balatsouras 1, Stavros Korres 1, Alexandros Fassolis 1, Ioannis Anastasakis 1, George Kloutsos 1, C. Nicolas Economou 1 Antonis Kaberos 1(presenter)
  • 1Piraeus and Athens, Greece

Aim: Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), as opposed to transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions, have not been extensively researched in hearing screening of pediatric and adult populations. The current study aimed to describe the range of DPOAE values obtained in two groups: a group of healthy children and a group of healthy adults.

Material: A group of 80 school-aged children (age range, 5 to 12 years) and a second group of 60 young adults (age range, 18 to 42 years) were studied.

Method: DPOAEs were obtained on an ILO Otodynamics analyzer (ILO292 DP Echoport) in the format of DP-grams. The DP-grams were recorded in 1/3-octave steps, spanning an f2 frequency range from 1.001 to 6.348 kHz. One ear from each subject was randomly selected to be included in the study.

Results: DP-grams with similar characteristics were obtained from both groups, with two sharp peaks of maximum amplitude at f2 frequencies of 1.5 kHz and 4 to 5 kHz, and a decrease in DPOAE amplitude at midfrequencies. Additionally, DPOAE levels decreased from childhood to adulthood. The change was more significant at middle and high frequencies, whereas DPOAE levels at low frequencies did not change significantly.

Conclusions: Children have higher mean DPOAE levels than young adults, and normative data with respect to age should always be considered in the evaluation of the results.