Time Course of the Suppression Effect on Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions by Prolonged Contralateral Acoustic Stimulation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although the suppressive effect of the medial efferent acoustic reflex is well known, the time course of this effect over prolonged periods has yet to be fully evaluated. We assessed time-dependent change in the suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) by the medial efferent acoustic reflex over a relatively long period. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We measured TEOAEs in the right ear before contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS), and then measured serial TEOAEs in the right ear at four intervals during a total of 16 minutes of continuous CAS, followed by three more recordings after termination of CAS. RESULTS: TEOAE amplitudes were reduced with CAS during a certain period (from the immediate period to 10 minutes depending on frequency) and subsequently recovered. TEOAE suppression values in the mean amplitudes for overall frequency were 0.76 dB at the initial recording, 0.35 dB at 5 minutes, 0.44 dB at 10 minutes, and 0.33 dB at 15 minutes during CAS. The initial suppression value was significantly larger than other suppression values of 5, 10, and 15 minutes (p<0.05). In recordings obtained after CAS, TEOAE amplitude exceeded pre-acoustic amplitudes at 1 kHz, 1.5 kHz, and 2 kHz. CONCLUSIONS: The present results show the existence of the medial efferent acoustic reflex and demonstrate the time course that TEOAE suppressions present initially after CAS, showing fatigue over time. Overshooting of TEOAE was observed in recordings at several frequencies after termination of CAS.