Efferent Inhibitory Effect Observed in Otoacoustic Emissions and Auditory Brainstem Response in the Neonatal Population

Abstract

Objective: To characterize the inhibitory effect (IE) in the otoacoustic emission (OAE) and auditory brainstem response (ABR) in newborns at high and low risk for hearing loss. Design: Cross-sectional study. Patients and Methods: Seventy-nine newborns at low risk for hearing loss and 46 at high risk underwent transient evoked OAE (TEOAE), distortion product OAE (DPOAE) and ABR testing with or without the presence of contralateral white noise presented at a level of 60 dB SPL. Results: For both low- and high-risk newborns, there were no significant differences in IE between the left and right ears. There was a statistically significant difference in the right-ear IE between the low- and high-risk group for DPOAE and ABR testing. There was also greater agreement of the efferent system evaluation outcomes between TEOAE and ABR. Conclusions: ABR testing detected IE in a greater number of newborns in the low-risk, as compared to the high-risk group.