[Relationship between otoacoustic emissions and blood-lead levels in school children].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between blood levels of lead and the function states of cochlear outer hair cells (OHC).
Method: Two hundred and fifty-six children lived in Pb-Zn mine area and Yiliang country, aged from 6 to 7 years were enrolled in this study. Blood lead (B-Pb) levels were measured. Otoacoustic emission (OAE) tests including transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) and distortion products otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) were also measured in these children.
Result: The difference in B-Pb levels between the school children who lived in mine area and children lived in country was significant (P < 0.01). There were negative correlations between the B-Pb levels and the signal to noise ratio (SNR) on DPOAE test in children who lived in country and those lived in mine area (P < 0.01). The difference in relative coefficients of B-Pb levels between the children lived in mine and children lived in country were significant (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: The B-Pb levels of children who lived in mine area were higher than that of those lived in country. SNR decreased in plumbism cases. Long-term Pb expose may influence the function of cochlear OHC and higher B-Pb levels may lead to worse function of OHC.