A review of otoacoustic emission hearing screening technology

Abstract

Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) have attracted a great deal of interest from audiologists, biophysicists, cell biologists, and engineers worldwide. Despite great achievements having been made in recent years, many theoretical and practical aspects of OAE assessment still remain to be explored. One important area of focus for further OAE research is the development of optimal recording techniques and methods of data processing, which are expected to offer: 1) an improvement in the amplitude and the SNR of the OAE response, and thus increase the pass rate in newborn hearing screening; and 2) a decrease in OAE acquisition time. This paper examines the current limitations of OAE recording for neonatal hearing screening, analyses the possible reasons for these constraints, and reviews possible clinical and technological solutions that have been considered to date.

• otoacoustic emission
• neonatal hearing screening
• signal-to-noise ratio
• time-frequency analysis