RESUMO
It is well documented that children exhibit a high prevalence and incidence of otitis media. Otoacoustic emissions [OAEs] offer great potential for clinical testing of cochlear function in children. The aim of the present study was to determine the applicability of OAEs to assess hearing acuity in children with acute otitis media who were scheduled for middle ear treatment. In a analytic cross-sectional design, 54 children with acute otitis media were evaluated by pure tone audiometry [PTA], tympanometry and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions [DPOAEs]. PTA thresholds and, DPOAE amplitudes and signal to noise ratios were compared before and after treatment course. The data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software. Air conduction thresholds were significantly different from post-treatment thresholds [p<0.05] We found significant differences between pre treatment and post- treatment DPOAE amplitude and signal to noise ratios at 500 Hz - 5000 Hz [p<0.05]. Although we found any air-bone gap in 10 patients after treatment course, but DPOAEs were seriously affected in these patients. Acute otitis media can be monitored by DPOAE measurement pre- and post-treatment. In addition, DPOAE is more sensitive than pure tone audiometry for assessment of these subjects