[Distortion product otoacoustic emission test of cochlear deafness].

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the performance of the distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) test of cochlear deafness by measuring the sensitivity, specificity and predictive efficiency of the test.

METHOD: With DPOAE examination data obtained from normal hearing (86 ears) and cochlear deafness (98 ears), the evaluation was performed by comparing the outcomes of the DPOAE level test at each of several frequencies (1-6 kHz) with those of the pure-tone audiogram. The sensitivity and specificity were combined to form receiver operating characteristics(ROC) curves. The area under an ROC curve was calculated to represent a useful overall measure of a test's performance independent of the particular choice of a criterion value of a test variable separating the normal from abnormal.

RESULT: The area under an ROC curve at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 kHz frequencies was 0.677, 0.777, 0.818, 0.890, 0.873, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The DPOAE can form a useful frequency-specific objective test of cochlear deafness.