Some methodological considerations in the analysis of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions

Otoacoustic emissions are now widely used in clinical practice, especially in hearing screening programmes for newborn children. A 'true' cochlear response is typically detected both by means of objective criteria (based on the measurement of a set of quantitative parameters extracted from the responses) and visual inspection. It is necessary to improve the sensitivity and sensibility of the criteria used in detection. Detection of an emission is influenced by many factors, such as the subject's condition, environmental conditions, the acquisition procedure, the analysis software and the decision rules. Deeper knowledge of the characteristic features of the emissions is also needed. This paper condenses the results of some previously published studies on a new method for time-frequency analysis, effects of the acquisition procedure, and response identification.