Otoacoustic emissions

[Upstate]

Hi,
Hearing test showed otoacoustic emissions absent in AN ear.  A quick google search didn't give me much info on what this means other than a hearing test usually given to newborns and it's used to check if cilia is present?  I guess this means my cilia is damaged/dead?  Does anyone know if this is a usual side effect of AN or possibly side effect from GK? 

Upstate

[nftwoed]

Hi;
   There are different types of Ota Acoustic Emission tests. Yes; To know activity within the cochlea, BUT, some with near normal hearing have no Ota Acoustic Emissions that one can hear: http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Otoacoustic-Emissions/
   I would look at the test more as 'indicative' than 'absolute'.
   I think for forum purposes, we may be thinking of the testing for cochlear implant candidacy, or particular bone conduction hearing type of device.

[Upstate]

Thanks nftwoed. If someone would have told me a year and a half ago I would be interested in otoacoustic emissions info in the near future, I would have told them they were crazy. 

[nftwoed]

Types of OAE Test
There are four types of OAEs believed to exist:

Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions or SOAEs are spontaneous responses (sounds), i.e. without any acoustic stimuli.
Sustained-frequency otoacoustic emissions or SFOAEs are responses (sounds) to an ongoing tone.
Distortion product otoacoustic emissions or DPOAEs are responses (sounds) to two parallel tones with varying frequencies.
Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions or TEOAEs are responses (sounds) to short acoustic stimuli like clicks.
The peripheral auditory system consisting of the cochlea, outer ear, and middle ear is measured using an OAE. Even though the cochlea emits the responses or sounds, in a well functioning ear, the middle and outer ear is capable of transmitting the response sounds to the microphone recording the sounds. So, an OAE test is a method used to check the functioning of the cochlea. However, more analysis will be required to gauge individual cochlea frequency areas. Also, an OAE is not a tool to comprehensively determine your auditory functioning; it can, however, help reaffirm or question the functioning, and help gain insight in case of a lesion.