The influence of changes in middle ear impedance with and without scro
tympanon on the measurement of evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAE) was
investigated in 108 children between 3 and 12 years of age. Children
with proven serotympanon never showed good EOAE. In those who only had
changes in middle ear impedance without a scrotympanon, the decrease
in EOAE amplitude was more related to the magnitude of conductive hear
ing loss than to the change in impedance itself. These results are com
pared with those of a neonatal screening project in which some of the
532 healthy full-term newborns showed poor emissions in the first days
of life. It seems reasonable to assume that this is due to incomplete
pneumatization of the middle ears of these children, especially as a
control audiogram later in their lives showed normal hearing threshold
s.