Using OAEs for Cochlear Mapping

Question

Can you use OAE for cochlear mapping? And if so, can you explain the procedure?

Answer

I do cochlear mapping for my ototoxicity monitoring. I use 65/55 for L1 and L2 and 6 frequencies per octave from 500 Hz through 10000 Hz. I'll perform a baseline pre-administration evaluation, and then repeat the test approximately every 3 months during treatment (or upon presentation of symptoms), and at least once six months following termination of treatment. I'm looking for areas of compromised function compared to the pre-treatment baseline. The classic pattern is high frequency, but I have seen a small number of cases where there is mid-frequency compromise of function that later showed up on the audiogram.

Robert C. Fifer, Ph.D. is currently the Director of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at the Mailman Center for Child Development, Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami School of Medicine. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in Speech-Language Pathology with a minor in Deaf Education. His M.A. degree is from Central Michigan University in Audiology. And his Ph.D. degree is from Baylor College of Medicine in Audiology and Bioacoustics. Dr. Fifer's clinical and research interests focus on the areas of auditory evoked potentials, central auditory processing, early detection of hearing loss in children, and auditory anatomy and physiology. He is the immediate Past-President of the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, a member of ASHA's Health Care Economics Committee, and the ASHA representative to the American Medical Association's Health Care Professions Advisory Committee for the Relative Value Utilization Committee in addition to being ASHA's representative to the AMA's Practice Expense Advisory Committee. Additional responsibilities at the state level include serving as a consultant to the Florida Department of Health's Children's Medical Services and the audiology representative to the Genetics and Newborn Screening Advisory Council.