Most human ears display synchronized spontaneous otoacoustic emissions when driven

Evidence

SEOAEs have been found in about 90% of ears. Spontaneous emissions (SOAE) are transformed to SEOAEs if driven by an appropriate signal about 10 to 20 dB above the SOAE level. At these levels, spontaneous emissions are synchronized to the stimulating tone. At low levels of stimulation, however, a spontaneous emission remains at its own frequency and is not synchronized to the evoking tone. — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 276

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the distinction between spontaneous emissions (SOAE) and stimulus-frequency-evoked emissions (SEOAE) as the same oscillator driven above its level.