Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, ENT - Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Clin Neurophysiol. 2010 Mar;121(3):359-65. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2009.11.003. Epub 2009 Dec 11.
There is still controversy regarding the effects of aging on evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAEs), as well as on the efferent system measured by contralateral acoustic stimulation of EOAEs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the deterioration in EOAEs and efferent suppression (ES) in a representative sample statistically controlling for the differences in hearing thresholds.
Seventy-one ears (20-79years) were included in the study, 47 of which had normal hearing thresholds, and 24 ears had a sensorineural high-frequency hearing loss caused by presbycusis. The effects of aging on transient evoked (TEOAEs) and distortion product OAEs (DPOAEs), and on ES were evaluated using multiple regression and correlation coefficients.
EOAEs and ES were more strongly correlated with age, than with pure-tone thresholds (PTTs). Moreover, the increase in the amount of variance explained by the regression model using both predictors was larger for PTTs as compared to the variable age.
The deterioration of EOAEs and ES with advancing age is caused mainly by pure age-effects, and additionally by the reduction in hearing thresholds.
The relative contribution of age and hearing thresholds on EOAEs, as well as on ES is important for their interpretation in clinical settings.
关于年龄对诱发性耳声发射（EOAEs）以及对EOAEs 的对侧声刺激测量的传出系统的影响仍存在争议。本研究的目的是在统计学上控制听力阈值差异的情况下，研究 EOAEs 和传出抑制（ES）的恶化。
本研究纳入了 71 只耳朵（20-79 岁），其中 47 只耳朵听力阈值正常，24 只耳朵因老年性高频听力损失而出现感觉神经性听力损失。使用多元回归和相关系数评估瞬态诱发（TEOAEs）和畸变产物耳声发射（DPOAEs）以及 ES 随年龄的变化。
EOAEs 和 ES 与年龄的相关性强于与纯音听阈（PTTs）的相关性。此外，与 PTTs 相比，使用两个预测因子的回归模型解释的方差量增加更大。
EOAEs 和 ES 随年龄的恶化主要是由纯年龄效应引起的，此外还与听力阈值的降低有关。
年龄和听力阈值对 EOAEs 和 ES 的相对贡献对于它们在临床环境中的解释很重要。
