THE FEASIBILITY OF RECORDING TRANSIENTLY EVOKED OTOACOUSTIC EMISSIONSIMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING GROMMET INSERTION

The demonstration of normal hearing following grommet insertion in you ng or difficult to test children can be problematic. This study aims t o determine whether transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs), can be recorded in the operating theatre, immediately after grommet i nsertion, and whether this technique has any advantages over conventio nal testing to exclude sensorineural loss. One ear of each of 80 child ren was studied, using the Otodynamics ILO88 OAE analyser. Responses w ere normal in eight, reduced in 31 and absent in 39. Bleeding prevente d the performance of the test in two children. We conclude that TEOAEs can be recorded in 50% of ears immediately after grommet insertion, b ut the responses are reduced compared with normal ears. This applicati on of TEOAEs may be a useful supplement to behavioural tests, but we d o not advocate it as a screening technique.