Neuroimaging and evoked potential studies have demonstrated differences between native Mandarin and native English speakers in the auditory processing of lexical tones. These differences in pitch encoding are evident for linguistic and nonlinguistic contexts at the level of the rostral brainstem [Krishnan et al., 2005; Krishnan et al., 2006]. the aim of this study was to examine if linguistic experience modulates olivocochlear activity evoked by pitch-varying stimuli when measured via the contralateral suppression paradigm. Transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) were recorded from the right ear of normal-hearing adults in conditions with and without a contralateral suppressor. the TEOAE stimuli consisted of a series of linear clicks presented at 65 dB peSPL. Three types of 70 dB SPL contralateral suppressors (white noise, Mandarin tones, and tone glides) were utilized. Our initial results indicate that white noise elicits greater amounts of TEOAE suppression compared to Mandarin tones or tone glides in both native Mandarin and English speakers. However, the Mandarin tones evoke more TEOAE suppression in native Mandarin speakers than in native English speakers. These preliminary findings suggest that the pitch-encoding neural mechanisms shaped by linguistic experience may influence neural control of cochlear micromechanics.