Amplitude Changes of Evoked Transient Otoacoustic Emissions in Infants

In a longitudinal study, transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) responses were recorded at fortnightly intervals during the first 6 weeks of life, with an aim to exploring amplitude changes during this period. No significant change in the amplitude of TEOAE was observed across the infant test period, within and between subjects. Overall TEOAE amplitude of the infants was found to be approximately 10 dB higher than a group of adults tested using identical procedures. The stability of the response amplitudes during the neonatal period support the introduction of an infant specific signal-to-noise ratio pass criteria to improve the sensitivity of TEOAE to milder losses. The findings also support the use of in situ stimulus correction to minimise the impact of maturational effects on response amplitude.