Otoacoustic Emissions Tests Give Clues as to Cause?

I had an otoacoustic emissions test today. It showed I had dysfunctional/damaged/dead hair cells not concentrated in any frequency but spread out over all of them.

This would logically be the sort of result one would expect from something caused systematically (like stress or otoxicity) as opposed to noise trauma which would concentrate the damage along a particular frequency...or is this one of those things where forum science is no match for actual medical science?

 

That's very interesting to read JohnK. Do you have any ringing in the ears?

 

Well of course, or I wouldn't be here I'd be out enjoying the life I took for granted!

 

I think you're right John. Systemic damage would suggest a systemic cause.

 

Right, so I want to hear from other people who had the otoacoustic echo test and their results and their cause of T

 

Could you post your results? I have a general knowledge of DPOAE results. We're your emmisions present at all tested frequencies?

 

My audiologist is supposed to email them to me. As soon as I get them I'll post them here

 

KMP

 

Can you or someone tell me the difference between an ECOG and acoustic emissions test?

 

ECOG may be used to help diagnose whether you have any disease which may cause an accumulation of inner ear fluid, such as Ménière's disease.
A dpoae is meant to measure outter hair cell function. The DPOAE would not diagnose such diseases in my understanding.

 

I got them, but also got results from a better OAE facility (Hospital at U of Penn) saying my ear hairs are fine for my age.

Although the whole thing does seem rather flawed to me since it doesn't go up to 20,000...

 

your tinnitus could be muscular and belonging to some difficult to diagnose area of the middle ear

 

Good idea. I"ll post my results as well as I sure as hell can't read them, lol. Mind you these are before I went to the GP and got the amoxcillian for 2 weeks. I should had another test done but I and the ENT i followed up with didn't think it would make a difference.

 

My OE's are good. No hearing loss. One ENT suggested that my T could be related to dorsal cochlear disfunction. Who knows!

 

They can go higher if you ask, mine was done to 16khz. All the dead spots seem to be in line with my T, the OE also matched my audiogram to a tee (which was also done to 16kzz).

 

What about muscular tinnitus from middle ear vibration, surely it could be that too?

 

Yes, that could a possibility. I have chronic neck tension as I sit at a desk all day. Nothing I do seems to relieve the tension and no one will give me anything for it. I feel exhausted all the time and I don't have the resources to try lots of different treatments. The NHS have washed their hands of me as they can find nothing wrong.

 

Well you could have myoclonus due to neck tension, tmjd, vestibular neuritis, metabolic, acoustic, idiopathic etc... but if you have neck tension you could have a winner. have you tried a chiropractor, acupuncture or muscle relaxants? maybe even applying a laser on the tense areas of your neck.