Abstract
One of the most frequent causes of sensorineural hearing loss in childhood is damage to outer hair cells of the cochlea. The presence of otoacoustic emissions, generated by outer hair cells, provides evidence for normal hearing. This finding, however, may give rise to false reassurance, because even severe hearing loss, localized behind the cochlea, can be associated with normal otoacoustic emissions. The coexistence of otoacoustic emissions and hearing loss calls for the prompt exclusion of neurological disease.
Key words
Otoacoustic emissions - Neural hearing loss
