Lonsbury-Martin B L, Cutler W M, Martin G K
Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030.
J Acoust Soc Am. 1991 Apr;89(4 Pt 1):1749-59. doi: 10.1121/1.401009.
Previous measures of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in young adults suggested that these responses were capable of detecting the functional effects of auditory aging. The primary goal of the present study was to provide more detailed evidence for the influence of aging processes on the ability of healthy, older ears to generate DPOAEs. Toward this end, DPOAEs were examined in a series of human subjects, with clinically normal hearing, ranging in age from 31 to 60 years. Acoustic-distortion products were measured in two basic forms consisting of "audiograms" and response/growth or input/output functions. Distortion-product "audiograms" depicted the detailed frequency pattern of DPOAE amplitudes in response to constant-level stimuli, whereas the growth functions described the detection "threshold" and suprathreshold aspects of DPOAE activity, at specific frequencies, in response to primary tones that were systematically increased in level. The principal finding was that, when compared to emissions in young ears, DPOAEs accurately tracked the systematic deterioration of high-frequency hearing in aging individuals.
以往对年轻成年人畸变产物耳声发射（DPOAEs）的测量表明，这些反应能够检测听觉衰老的功能影响。本研究的主要目的是为衰老过程对健康老年耳朵产生DPOAEs能力的影响提供更详细的证据。为此，在一系列年龄在31至60岁、临床听力正常的人类受试者中检测了DPOAEs。声学畸变产物以两种基本形式进行测量，即“听力图”和反应/增长或输入/输出函数。畸变产物“听力图”描绘了DPOAE振幅在恒定水平刺激下的详细频率模式，而增长函数则描述了在特定频率下，响应强度系统增加的初级音调时，DPOAE活动的检测“阈值”和阈上方面。主要发现是，与年轻耳朵的耳声发射相比，DPOAEs准确地跟踪了衰老个体高频听力的系统性衰退。
