Distortion product otoacoustic emissions as a health surveillance technique for hearing screening in workers in the steel manufacturing industry

BACKGROUND : Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are a promising screening technique for the early detection of subtle noise-induced cochlear function changes. OBJECTIVES : To determine the applicability of DPOAEs as a health surveillance technique for the early detection of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in workers at a steel manufacturing industry. METHODS : DPOAE measurements were recorded in 20 participants with no history of occupational noise exposure and 20 participants exposed to noise in the steel manufacturing industry. Participants were not exposed to noise for at least 48 hours prior to testing. All participants were male, with normal audiometric thresholds of ≤15 dB HL. The DPOAE presence and response levels for different frequencies were compared between the two groups. The study further evaluated the shortterm test-retest repeatability of DPOAE measurements. RESULTS : The noise-exposed group had significantly lower DPOAE response amplitudes than the control group for all the tested frequencies: p