Transient Evoked Otoaocustic Emissions Before and After Alternate Stimulation in Elderly Group

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAEs) with alternate stimulation for elderly group and suggest probability between tinnitus and efferent system. Twenty-eight subjects (56 ears) ranging from 65 to 86 years old were participated. The pure tone threshold average (0.5, 1, 2 kHz) of the right ear was 32.22±14.65 dB HL and the left was 28.83±11.64 dB HL. There were nineteen subjects without tinnitus and the others had various tinnitus. Four out of tinnitus group had spontaneous right unilateral type, two out of them had bilateral type, while the others had intermittent tinnitus in somewhere of head. Alternate stimulation for contralateral suppression of TEOAEs was broad band noise of 70 dB SPL. Contralateral suppressions of TEOAEs were recorded in almost all subjects used every frequency (1, 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4 kHz), and TEOAEs suppressions were shown significantly on left ears of all subjects (t = -2.06, p = .049). TEOAEs of female were lower than male's in almost frequencies except 4 kHz, but TEOAEs differences of suppression were not appeared significantly between male and female (p > .05). Alternate TEOAEs suppressions were investigated in all frequencies without tinnitus group and varied in each frequency with tinnitus group. These results were achieved using a small pool of subjects but exposed a possibility for clinical application of TEOAEs associated with the efferent system.