ABSTRACT
Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) are generated in response to paired pure tones and are felt to be more frequency specific (4). Some researchers feel that DPOAE's can accurately assess boundaries between normal and abnormal hearing with losses up to 50 dB. This category of OAE's may be clinically useful in monitoring changes in the cochlea due to hereditary hearing loss, progressive disease, and ototoxic agents. Research in the area of OAE's is still young and many of the proposed theories have yet to be widely accepted and utilized in a clinical setting. The following chapter provides more detail on this subject.
