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. 2014 Oct 27;8:860. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00860

Table 1.

Summary of the included studies.

Study Clinical population OAE protocol CAS MEMR control MOC reflex Conclusions
Veuillet et al. (1999) Learning-impaired (n = 14) CEOAE; linear; 60-72 dB SPL; unknown SNR; MOC reflex was computed by equivalent attenuation method 30 dB SL BBN Unknown Reduced relative to controls; relatively lower OAE levels in the learning-impaired group; right ear was more affected A deficit in inhibitory MOC mechanisms could reflect a more central dysfunction
Muchnik et al. (2004) APD/LD (n = 15) TEOAE; non-linear; 74 dB SPL; 3 dB SNR 40 dB SL BBN Clinical ART Lower compared with control group; more affected in 8.0–20.48 ms range; no relationship between APD test outcomes and MOC reflex strength; higher OAE levels in APD Reduced auditory inhibitory function in some children with APD who also had difficulty with hearing in noise
Clarke et al. (2006) SLI (n = 18) TEOAE; linear; 60 dB SPL; unknown SNR 65 dB SPL BBN Clinical ART No group differences; no right vs. left ear differences; MOC reflex in right ear and expressive grammar scores were related No relationship between MOC activity and language impairment
Sanches and Carvallo (2006) APD (n = 36) TEOAE; linear 60 dB and non-linear 60–80 dB SPL; unknown SNR 60 dB SPL BBN Unknown No group differences but lower prevalence of MOC effect in APD group; no effect of linear vs. non-linear OAE recording method; classifying the APD group based on speech-in-noise scores did not change the study outcomes Abnormal MOC inhibition was significantly more common in the APD groups than in the control group
Veuillet et al. (2007) Dyslexics (n = 38) CEOAE; 57–69 dB SPL; 4 dB SNR68 30 dB SL BBN Unknown Stronger reflex in the right than the left ear in controls, but predominated in the left ear in dyslexics; reduced reflex in the right ear in dyslexics; MOC reflex asymmetry changed following training Deficits in categorical perception were accompanied by abnormalities in MOC reflex asymmetry in dyslexics
Burguetti and Carvallo (2008) APD (n = 38) TEOAE; unspecified level; linear; 0–5 dB SNR 60–65 dB SPL BBN Clinical ART No significant group differences; tendency for stronger reflex in the control group; right ear advantage in controls, but left ear advantage in the APD group Lack of clear evidence for a reduced MOC inhibition in APD
Garinis et al. (2008) LD (n = 18) TEOAE; linear; 60 dB SPL; 3 dB SNR 60 dB SPL BBN Clinical ART Relatively lower reflex in the left ear in LD; for the right ear, CAS caused an enhancement in OAE levels for LD but a reduction for controls; lower OAE levels in LD MOC mechanisms differ in adults with LD compared to those with typical learning abilities; this study included adult participants
Yalçinkaya et al. (2010) Listening problem (n = 12) TEOAE; non-linear 83 dB SPL; 3 dB SNR 40 dB SL Clinical ART Reduced reflex at 1000–2000 Hz band in the study group; lower OAE levels for the right ear in the study group Lower MOC inhibition may be associated with listening problems
Butler et al. (2011) APD (n = 8) DPOAE; f2/f1 = 1.22 and 1.10; f2 = 2,3 and 4 kHz; L1/L2 = 60/55 dB; SNR > 6 dB 60 dB SPL ART ≥ 70 dB HL No group differences in MOC reflex, OAE level, or noise floor No support for an efferent hypothesis for APD

APD, auditory processing disorder; ART, acoustic reflex threshold; BBN, broad-band noise; CAS, contralateral acoustic stimulation; CEOAEs, click-evoked otoacoustic emissions; DPOAEs, distortion product otoacoustic emissions; LD, learning disability; SLI, specific language impairment; SNR, signal-to-noise ratio; TEOAE, transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions.