Distortion product otoacoustic emissions evoked by tone complexes

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions are a manifestation of nonlinear interaction between two or more stimulus components within the cochlea. Most studies employ a two-tone stimulus to evoke them. In this study we used a more complex stimulus, in which one of the primaries of the customary two-tone stimulus was replaced by an irregularly spaced tone complex. We obtained data from Mongolian gerbils, and investigated whether the novel stimulus has added value in terms of measurement efficiency, and whether it allows the derivation of information on cochlear mechanics that cannot be derived from two-tone stimuli.