Compensating for ear-canal acoustics when measuring otoacoustic emissions.

Abstract

Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) provide an acoustic fingerprint of the inner ear, and changes in this fingerprint may indicate changes in cochlear function arising from efferent modulation, aging, noise trauma, and/or exposure to harmful agents. However, the reproducibility and diagnostic power of OAE measurements is compromised by the variable acoustics of the ear canal, in particular, by multiple reflections and the emergence of standing waves at relevant frequencies. Even when stimulus levels are controlled using methods that circumvent standing-wave problems (e.g., forward-pressure-level calibration), distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) levels vary with probe location by 10-15 dB near half-wave resonant frequencies. The method presented here estimates the initial outgoing OAE pressure wave at the eardrum from measurements of the conventional OAE, allowing one to separate the emitted OAE from the many reflections trapped in the ear canal. The emitted pressure level (EPL) represents the OAE level that would be recorded were the ear canal replaced by an infinite tube with no reflections. When DPOAEs are expressed using EPL, their variation with probe location decreases to the test-retest repeatability of measurements obtained at similar probe positions. EPL provides a powerful way to reduce the variability of OAE measurements and improve their ability to detect cochlear changes.