Effects of ear-canal standing waves on measurements of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions

At frequencies above 3 kHz, standing waves in the ear canal complicate calibration of stimulus sound-pressure levels (SPLs) for measurements of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). In the literature, two stimulus-presentation strategies have been used for DPOAE measurements. In the “in-the-ear adjustment” strategy, the voltage command to the speakers is adjusted to maintain a constant stimulus SPL across frequency at the DPOAE-measurement microphone. In the “iso-voltage” strategy, the voltage presented to the speakers is held constant across frequency, on the basis of the assumption that the frequency response of the speakers is approximately flat at the eardrum in the average human ear canal. Because of standing-wave effects, there are large, systematic but idiosyncratic differences of stimulus SPL between the two strategies. DPOAE-versus-frequency functions (“DPOAE audiograms”) obtained using both stimulus-presentation strategies in the same ears are presented. The differences of stimulus SPL between the two strategies, and the associated differences of DPOAE amplitude, are described and quantified. Around frequencies of standing-wave minima at the DPOAE probe, the in-the-ear adjustment strategy resulted in smaller DPOAEs at high L1 = L2, but much larger DPOAEs at low L1=L2, than did the iso-voltage strategy. For any L1, the DPOAE-amplitude differences between the two strategies varied systematically with L1 - L2. At the stimulus levels used to construct previously published population norms for clinical applications (i.e., L1≥ dB SPL), there are only small differences of mean DPOAE amplitudes, and of the standard deviations of these means, between the two strategies.