Effects of Body Position on Cochlear Function in Infants: An Otoacoustic Emission Study

• Published in: Indian journal of otolaryngology, and head, and neck surgery Vol. 76; no. 1; pp. 934 - 937
• Main Authors: Bayat, Arash, Saki, Nader, Mirmomeni, Golshan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi Springer India 01-02-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Babies; Ears & hearing; Head and Neck Surgery; Hearing tests; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Article; Otorhinolaryngology; Patient positioning; Body position; Otoacoustic emissions; Infants
• ISSN: 2231-3796; 0973-7707
• DOI: 10.1007/s12070-023-04327-7

Background
Otoacoustic Emission (OAE) is frequently recorded in various body positions for infants. However, little is available about whether these deviations will produce non-pathological effects on the clinical results. The current study assessed body position’s effect on infants’ inner ear function.
Methods
Sixty normally hearing infants participated in an analytical cross-sectional study. Distortion-product OAEs (DPOAEs) were measured in the supine, side-lying, and upright positions. The DPOAE amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were recorded across the 1500 to 6000 Hz range.
Results
The mean DPOAE amplitude and SNR values were significantly greater in the upright position than supine and side-lying positions (p < 0.05). These differences were more pronounced in the 3000 to 6000 Hz range. The effects of gender and ear asymmetry on DPOAEs were not statistically significant.
Conclusion
Our findings suggested that the upright position could be regarded as the best position for assessing DPOAEs in infants.