Korean J Otolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2006 Apr;49(4):366-370.

The Feasibility of Using Automated Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission (DPOAE) as a Screening Auditory Function Test of Workers in a Noisy Environment

• Lee WS
• Yoo SY
• In SM
• Choi JC
• Kim JY
• Oh JH

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Automated DPOAE (Distortion product otoacoustic emission) was tested on workers exposed to a noisy environmnent to determine its feasibility as a screening test for noise-induced hearing loss.
SUBJECTS AND METHOD
Sensitivity and specificity were analyzed for in both automated DPOAE and Pure tone audiometry conducted on 300 subjects working in a noisy environment. Of these subjects, a subgroup of 40 workers who were available for a follow-up study underwent the same experiment again a year later, and the results were compared with the first one.
RESULTS
In terms of the frequency of automated DPOAE, it was noted that it showed 91% sensitivity with a 9% false negative rate. The pass rate according to the period of service indicated statistical significance, although the results of a 1 year follow-up experiment did not indicate statistical significance.
CONCLUSION
The automated DPOAE seems feasible to use as a screening test when frequency and adjusted reference criteria are considered.

Keyword

DPOAE; Screening; Noise-induced hearing loss

MeSH Terms

Audiometry
Follow-Up Studies
Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced
Mass Screening*
Sensitivity and Specificity