OAE

Otoacoustic Emissions

Pre-neural potentials generated by the cochlea that can be recorded in the ear canal

OAE Measures

Objective and noninvasive tests that do not require a response from the participant

Types of OAEs

Distortion product OAEs (DPOAEs) generated by two pure-tone frequencies f1 and f2

Absent DPOAEs

Seen in people with sensorineural hearing loss >55 dB HL or conductive hearing loss

Present DPOAEs

Observed in people with pure/neural/retrocochlear hearing loss

Transient evoked OAEs (TEOAEs)

Generated by a click stimulus with acoustic energy between 2000Hz-5000Hz

Absent TEOAEs

Indicative of sensorineural hearing loss >30 dB HL or conductive loss

Present TEOAEs

Typically found in people with pure neural/retrocochlear hearing loss

General Evoked OAE interpretation

Reflects outer hair cell function at specific frequencies, not the degree of hearing loss

Clinical application of OAEs

Used in newborn screening, pediatric assessment, monitoring ototoxic medication effects, and intraoperative monitoring