DEVICE: Interacoustics (05711117082104)

An assembly of battery-powered devices designed to record and analyse the faint sounds hair cells in the inner ear emit [otoacoustic emission (OAE)] in response to a stimulus (e.g., click, tone burst, pure-tone signals) to test for a deficiency of function in the ear during diagnostic evaluation and/or neonatal screening. It typically consists of a portable programmable unit, an OAE probe, and eartips. The stimulus signal is emitted via the probe inserted into the ear canal and the response is recorded via a microphone in the probe; OAEs are absent/reduced in patients with hearing loss. The system may be combined with other audiological devices (e.g., tympanometer, ABR device).

An electroacoustic instrument designed to evaluate the activity of the auditory pathway of the brain in response to an acoustic signal [auditory brainstem response (ABR)] it provides at the ear (e.g., clicks delivered through an earphone), without need of patient cooperation. The signal, detected via the device's scalp electrodes and possibly a reference electrode on the ear lobe, is measured using computer averaging and signal processing techniques. This device is typically used to assess the function of the auditory pathways and to differentiate coma due to metabolic factors from structural damage.

An electronic instrument used to evaluate the functional condition of the middle ear by changing the air pressure in the external auditory canal to measure and graph the mobility characteristics of the tympanic membrane. It identifies abnormalities in tympanic membrane mobility due to stiffness, flaccidity, or the presence of fluid in the middle ear cavity. The device is also used to measure the acoustic reflex threshold from contractions of the stapedial muscle, to monitor healing of tympanic membrane grafts or stapedectomies, or to monitor follow up treatment for inflammation of the middle ear.