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Differentiating Middle Ear and Medial Olivocochlear Effects on Transient-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions

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Abstract

The response of the inner ear is modulated by the middle ear muscle (MEM) and olivocochlear (OC) efferent systems. Both systems can be activated reflexively by acoustic stimuli delivered to one or both ears. The acoustic middle ear muscle reflex (MEMR) controls the transmission of acoustic signals through the middle ear, while reflex activation of the medial component of the olivocochlear system (the MOCR) modulates cochlear mechanics. The relative prominence of the two efferent systems varies widely between species. Measuring the effect of either of these systems can be confounded by simultaneously activating the other. We describe a simple, sensitive online method that can identify the effects both systems have on otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) evoked by transient stimuli such as clicks or tone pips (TEOAEs). The method detects directly in the time domain the changes in the stimulus and/or emission pressures caused by contralateral noise. Measurements in human participants are consistent with other reports that the threshold for MOCR activation is consistently lower than for MEMR. The method appears to control for drift and subject-generated noise well enough to avoid the need for post hoc processing, making it promising for application in animal experiments (even if awake) and in the hearing clinic.

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Notes

  1. The response to an additional set of 4 probe and 1 reference pips was not included in the averaging in case of onset artifacts. As none were detected, this step was probably not necessary.

  2. Subsequent to collecting data for this study, the averaging algorithm was modified to create the “signal” and “noise” buffers (A and B) using the results from individual stimulus blocks into alternating A and B “accumulator buffers” rather than separate sequential averages (for A and then B). This is likely to have further reduced the influence of slow drift.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Hugh Knowles Hearing Center and Northwestern University. We are very grateful for the thorough and helpful feedback from three anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, School of Communication, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208-2952, USA

    Kendra L Marks & Jonathan H Siegel

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  1. Kendra L Marks
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Correspondence to Jonathan H Siegel.

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Marks, K.L., Siegel, J.H. Differentiating Middle Ear and Medial Olivocochlear Effects on Transient-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions. JARO 18, 529–542 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-017-0621-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-017-0621-0

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