High Frequency Click-Evoked Otoacoustic Emission Measurements Using Maximum Length Sequences

The aim of the study was to compare high-frequency components (4-8 kHz) of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) recorded using two different stimulus paradigms: the double-evoked (DE) paradigm, which uses two earphones, and the rate-derived nonlinear (RDNL) paradigm, which uses maximum length sequences (MLS) in a single ear-phone. Recordings were made in 20 otologically normal ears, and the results compared in terms of the apparent stimulus artefacts, and the presence of high-frequency CEOAEs. The correlation between CEOAEs amplitudes and DPOAE amplitudes from 4-8 kHz were also calculated. The results showed that, for both paradigms, the stimulus artefacts were of similar amplitudes and had largely decayed by around 1.5-2 ms post stimulus. Though similar in amplitude, the morphology of the artefacts in the two paradigms showed some differences, suggesting a possible means of identification. The CEOAE waveforms (post 2 ms) were very similar in both paradigms, and contained significant energy from 4-8 kHz. The amplitude correlated with the mean DPOAE amplitude from 4-8 kHz (R = 0.7; p < 0.001).