Stimulus ratio dependence of low-frequency distortion-product otoacoustic emissions in humans

J Acoust Soc Am. 2015 Feb;137(2):679-89. doi: 10.1121/1.4906157.

Abstract

Active amplifiers within the cochlea generate, as a by-product of their function, distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in response to specific two-tone stimuli. Focus has been on invoking emissions in a mid-frequency range from ∼0.5 to 4 kHz. The present study investigates stimulus parameters of the DPOAE at 2f1-f2 frequencies below 0.5 kHz. Eighteen out of 21 young human adults screened had audiometrically normal hearing for inclusion in the experiment. DPOAEs were measured with pure-tone stimuli in four configurations: f2 fixed around 2.13 kHz, f2 fixed around 0.53 kHz, 2f1-f2 fixed at 1.23 kHz and 0.25 kHz. Eight stimulus ratios, f2/f1, and three stimulus sound pressure levels, L1/L2, were measured in each configuration. Trends in ratio-magnitude responses for the mid-frequency DPOAE agree with those reported in previous literature. DPOAEs are not limited to distortion frequencies >0.5 kHz, but the stimulus ratio invoking the largest DPOAE in the mid-frequency range does not do so in the low-frequency range. Guiding the ratio according to the equivalent rectangular bandwidth of auditory filters maintains the DPOAE level.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation / methods*
  • Adult
  • Audiometry, Pure-Tone
  • Auditory Threshold
  • Cochlea / innervation*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous*
  • Pitch Perception*
  • Sound Spectrography
  • Young Adult