Test duration - Regular DPOAE
Approximately 10 seconds on patients with normal hearing under quiet conditions, but highly dependent on test con-
ditions in general.
5.3.4
DPOAE test results
When the test is completed, the test data is saved and the result is shown on the screen.
See
Options in the test result screens
for a description of the buttons available.
The following
Pass/Clear Response
and
Refer/No Clear Response
definitions apply only to the default DPOAE protocol
for AccuScreen.
See the AccuLink User Manual for customised protocols.
Pass/Clear Response
A single frequency
Pass/Clear Response
is determined by a statistical algorithm based
on weighted averaging, which ensures high-sensitivity detection. A
Pass/Clear
Response
result for a single frequency indicates that the patient has normal outer hair
cell function in the corresponding frequency region of the cochlea at the time of test-
ing.
The complete test is terminated successfully with a
Pass/Clear Response
if DPOAEs
could be registered for at least 3 out of 4 frequencies.
Note
•
Retro-cochlear hearing loss cannot be detected by DPOAE testing.
Refer/No Clear Response
A
Refer/No Clear Response
result indicates that in at least 2 frequency bands out of
4, no significant DPOAE response could be detected.
The DPOAE result specifies each frequency tested. This facilitates decisions concerning
further procedures. A
Pass/Clear Response
at a single frequency indicates near to nor-
mal outer hair cell function in the corresponding frequency region of the cochlea.
The common reasons for non-detection are noisy test conditions or a poor probe fit. In
DPOAEs this is especially true for the lowest frequencies. Therefore, low frequency
Refer/No Clear Response
with high frequency
Pass/Clear Response
is a strong indic-
ator that test conditions were not optimal. If this is the case, it is recommended that
you improve test conditions and repeat the test.
44
Otometrics - MADSEN AccuScreen
5 Testing with AccuScreen
