OTOACOUSTIC EMISSIONS AS INDICATORS OF NEUROLOGICALLY BASED HEARING-LOSS IN CHILDHOOD

One of the most frequent causes of sensorineural hearing loss in child hood is damage to outer hair cells of the cochlea. The presence of oto acoustic emissions, generated by outer hair cells, provides evidence f or normal hearing. This finding, however, may give rise to false reass urance, because even severe hearing loss, localized behind the cochlea , can be associated with normal otoacoustic emissions. The coexistence of otoacoustic emissions and hearing loss calls for the prompt exclus ion of neurological disease.