David Kemp’s contributions to using otoacoustic emissions for protection of noise-exposed ears

In 1978, David Kemp published a paper that demonstrated a new auditory phenomenon, OAEs. Since then, OAE research expanded broadly, with continued contributions by Kemp. Significantly, Kemp and his colleagues early-on developed commercially-available equipment. Used in the default settings, the equipment was good for hearing screening. But those who wanted to dig deeper could set up solid clinical-research protocols. This allowed translational and clinical research to progress alongside basic research. While OAEs are most often used clinically as pass/fail hearing-screening or site-of-lesion tests, Kemp at the outset inspired other uses, including detection of cochlear changes. He laid out critically important principles that have served as cornerstones for applied OAE research in the area of noise exposure.