The effect of ventilating tubes on distortion-product otoacoustic emissions.

摘要

Myringotomy with placement of ventilating tubes resolves the conductive hearing loss in the vast majority of patients with recurrent otitis media. Documenting the hearing level in children undergoing tube placement, however, has taken on increased importance as we aim to identify every child with sensorineural (or other conductive) hearing loss at the earliest possible age. The current study investigated whether distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were present or absent in children after tube insertion using either of two specific types of tubes and whether the choice of tube affected the outcome of the testing. Results showed that DPOAEs were recorded 85% of the time for grommet tubes and 67% of the time for T-tubes. After tube placement in children unable to cooperate for behavioral testing, DPOAEs can assist in assessment of ear-specific hearing information and should be an integral part of the test battery regardless of the type of tube.