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It has been discovered that the cochlea can emit sound as well as detect it. Further, it will produce a small sound in response to a sound stimulus, but this response is diminished or absent in the case of hearing loss of cochlear origin.
This discovery is the basis of a new technique and apparatus for assessing cochlea hearing loss which provides a click stimulus to the outer ear and then detects and analyses the acoustic response of the cochlea. This uses frequency analysis to compare the response with the stimulus, and it is claimed that the extent and frequency dependence of hearing loss can be predicted from a comparison of the spectral content of the stimulus and response. For each person there is a characteristic cochlea echo which can be recorded and used as a reference in future testing.
This is a new device which should be extremely useful in the assessment of noise-induced hearing loss, and for objective audiometry in a wide range of situations. The main advantage over alternative techniques (for instance electrocochleography) is that it is non-invasive.
Content and Design Copyright 2000 Dr. Malcolm C Brown. See Title Page for more details