Today, audiologists have many tools at their disposal to help identify and assess hearing loss.  One of the most exciting and newest techniques is the otoacoustic emissions (OAE) evaluation.

        Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) measure the function of the structures in the organ of hearing that turn sound energy into nerve energy.  If the test results are normal, then we can be confident that these structures are functioning normally and that hearing sensitivity is essentially normal.

    OAEs can be used for many purposes.  They are often used to rule out unusual auditory disorders in cases where there are significant, unexplained differences in hearing between the two ears, when a sudden hearing loss occurs, when medical-legal cases are filed, and in other cases when there are questions regarding the validity or accuracy of a routine hearing evaluation.  Because of its diagnostic strength and the ease with which OAEs can be measured, many audiologists have begun including the OAE evaluation as a routine part of their standard evaluation.

    OAE evaluation is very simple.  The audiologist will insert a soft rubber tip into your ear canal and present a series of comfortably loud tones or clicks.  Patients being tested need only sit quietly until the test is completed-- there is no need to respond at all.  Complete diagnostic OAE testing typically is completed in less than 5 minutes per ear.  OAE screening tests often can be completed in just a few seconds per ear.

    OAEs can be recorded on people at virtually any age, from shortly after birth to well above age 80.  For example, research has shown that babies with normal hearing have measurable OAEs as soon as six hours after birth.