Abstract
We studied the relationship between acoustic neuroma and detection of otoacoustic emission (OAE) in three patients with this disorder by (1), measurement of transiently evoked OAE (TEOAE) and (2) measurement of distortion-product OAE (DPOAE). In two of the three, OAE was detected in the frequency range for which sensorineural hearing loss was found by standard audiometry. Most cases of hearing loss in patients with acoustic neuroma consist of a mixture of inner ear hearing loss and retrocochlear hearing loss, and the intensity of OAE is not uniform. No significant correlation is associated between acoustic neuroma and detection of OAE, but successful detection of OAE, as in our patients, leads to a possibility that the severity and location of inner ear disorders can be surmised. If we consider the advantages of OAE detection noninvasively and simply, this becomes a clinically useful examination.
