Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions in Screening for Early Stages of High-frequency Hearing Loss in Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

Adolescents may be at risk of noise-induced hearing loss due to recreational sound. The aim of this study was to examine the role of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in screening for early stages of high-frequency loss such as can be observed in noise-induced hearing loss.

SETTING AND DESIGN

This cross-sectional study was embedded within Generation R, an ongoing prospective birth cohort study in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Data were collected from April 2016 to September 2019.

METHODS

A total of 3456 adolescents with a mean age of 13 years and 8 months old (standard deviation ± 5 months) were included. Pure-tone thresholds were measured in a sound-treated booth. DPOAEs were recorded using an ILO V6 analyzer with primary levels of 65/55 dB SPL and frequency ratio f/f of 1.22. Subjects had normal middle ear function at the time of assessment, based on tympanometry results.

RESULTS

Measurements in 6065 ears showed that DPOAE levels tend to decrease with increasing pure-tone thresholds. However, the intersubject variability of DPOAE levels in ears with the same threshold was large. DPOAE levels could reasonably identify early stages of high-frequency hearing loss.

CONCLUSION

The findings of present study indicate that DPOAE measurements can potentially be used for adolescents hearing screening in the high frequencies. Future research is needed to optimize test performance.