Hauser Samantha N, Hustedt-Mai Alexandra R, Wichlinski Anna, Bharadwaj Hari M
Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47901, USA.
Communication Science and Disorders, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
J Acoust Soc Am. 2025 Mar 1;157(3):1889-1898. doi: 10.1121/10.0036143.
Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and behavioral audiometry are routinely used for hearing screening and assessment. These measures provide related information about hearing status as both are sensitive to cochlear pathologies. However, DPOAE testing is quicker and does not require a behavioral response. Despite these practical advantages, DPOAE testing is often limited to screening only low- and mid-frequencies. Variation in ear canal acoustics across ears and probe placements has resulted in less reliable measurements of DPOAEs near 4 kHz and above where standing waves commonly occur. Stimulus calibration in forward pressure level and responses in emitted pressure level can reduce measurement variability. Using these calibrations, this study assessed the correlation between audiometry and DPOAEs in the extended high frequencies where stimulus calibrations and responses are most susceptible to the effect of standing waves. Behavioral thresholds and DPOAE amplitudes were negatively correlated, and DPOAE amplitudes in emitted pressure level accounted for twice as much variance as amplitudes in conventional sound pressure level units. Both measures were correlated with age. These data show that extended high-frequency DPOAEs are sensitive to differences in audiometric thresholds and highlight the need to consider calibration techniques in clinical and research applications of DPOAEs.
畸变产物耳声发射（DPOAE）和行为测听法通常用于听力筛查和评估。这些测量方法都对耳蜗病变敏感，可提供有关听力状况的相关信息。然而，DPOAE测试更快，且不需要行为反应。尽管有这些实际优势，但DPOAE测试通常仅限于对低频和中频进行筛查。不同耳朵以及探头放置位置的外耳道声学差异，导致在4kHz及以上（此处通常会出现驻波）的DPOAE测量结果不太可靠。前向压力水平的刺激校准和发射压力水平的反应可以减少测量变异性。利用这些校准方法，本研究评估了在扩展高频区域（在此区域刺激校准和反应最容易受到驻波影响）测听法与DPOAE之间的相关性。行为阈值与DPOAE幅度呈负相关，发射压力水平下的DPOAE幅度所解释的方差是传统声压级单位下幅度的两倍。这两种测量方法都与年龄相关。这些数据表明，扩展高频DPOAE对听阈差异敏感，并突出了在DPOAE的临床和研究应用中考虑校准技术的必要性。
