Theoretical and Clinical Applications of Otoacoustic Emissions
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Acoustics and Vibrations".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 14488
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue of the Acoustics section of Applied Sciences is the first review on hearing and assessment of hearing function since the journal began in 2011. Spectacular progress has been made during the past 40 years in what we know about hearing mechanisms and deafness. David Kemp’s discovery of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) in human ears in 1978 was initially met with skepticism but provided tremendous insight into cochlear function and causes of hearing loss.
The high prevalence of hearing impairment constitutes a major global public health challenge due to the impact it has on quality-of-life, social isolation, stress, and economic hardship, especially in older adults. In March 2018, the World Health Organization estimated that approximately 466 million people across the globe experience disabling hearing loss, of which 34 million of these are children. Historically, hearing healthcare falls within a medical model in which diagnostic assessments are used to determine if the hearing loss can be treated with medication and/or surgery. Audiologists and hearing scientists conduct a series of subjective and objective tests to assess auditory function and identify site(s) of lesion for the purposes of remediation and/or treatment. Among these tools, evoked otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) have become a widespread clinical test of cochlear outer hair cell function as part of the diagnostic test battery. OAEs have been shown to reflect alterations in cochlear outer hair cells before clinical hearing loss is present. OAEs can be utilized among infants, children, and individuals unable to complete standard audiometric tests, making it a clinically advantageous assessment.
Two types of evoked OAEs are used clinically: distortion-product (DPOAEs) and transient-evoked (TEOAEs). For DPOAEs, two tones (f1 and f2; f2 > f1) are presented simultaneously. The frequency relationship between the two frequencies (f2/f1 ratio) is selected to elicit a maximum response in the cochlea. The DPOAE is measured at a third frequency mathematically related to the stimulus frequencies (i.e., at the frequency 2f1-f2). The amplitude of the DPOAE above the noise floor is then viewed as an indicator of cochlear function. For TEOAEs, clicks or other brief stimuli are used to elicit an emission across a broad frequency range. Whether a clinic uses DPOAE or TEOAE usually depends on the specific clinical populations served, as both methods can be used to detect minor changes in cochlear health. For example, for ototoxicity monitoring, DPOAEs are best used to assess high-frequency changes. OAE measurements are the most powerful when interpreted in conjunction with other subjective and physiologic audiological measures.
By providing a basis for understanding how and why OAE testing works through basic and experimental studies of OAEs, this issue will interest hearing scientists, physiologists, otolaryngologists, and audiologists. That the Applied Science journal has chosen to devote this issue to OAEs and auditory function is a signal that hearing research continues to be an important area for continued study.
Submissions are invited for both original research and review articles. We also welcome papers on stimulus frequency and spontaneous OAEs, especially if they examine some level of clinical applicability.
Dr. Rachael Baiduc
Prof. Dr. Kathleen Hutchinson Marron
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- transient evoked otoacoustic emissions
- distortion-product otoacoustic emissions
- stimulus frequency otoacoustic emissions
- spontaneous otoacoustic emissions
- outer hair cells
- cochlear physiology
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