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Objective assessment of frequency-specific hearing thresholds in babies
Heleen Luts1, Christian Desloovere, Ariane Kumar
1Lab. Exp. ORL, K.U. Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 33, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. heleen.luts@uz.kuleuven.ac.be
Summary
Auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs) provide an efficient, objective method for estimating hearing thresholds in infants. This technique yields high success rates for frequency-specific hearing assessment in babies.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Pediatric Medicine
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Infants with hearing impairments require timely and accurate hearing threshold estimation for effective intervention.
- Objective electrophysiological measures are crucial for assessing hearing in non-cooperative infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the clinical utility of dichotic multiple-stimulus auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs) for objective, frequency-specific hearing threshold estimation in infants.
- To compare ASSRs with click-evoked auditory brainstem response (ABR) and behavioral hearing thresholds (BHTs).
Main Methods:
- Ten infants (3-14 months) underwent testing with ABR and ASSRs during the same session.
- ASSRs utilized frequency-modulated tones (0.5-4 kHz) presented simultaneously to both ears.
- Test duration and its impact on ASSR precision were analyzed by varying recording times (5, 7.5, 10 min).
Main Results:
- ASSRs achieved a 95% success rate for thresholds at 1, 2, and 4 kHz, compared to 60% for ABR.
- Behavioral hearing thresholds (BHTs) had a lower success rate (51%) and were obtained significantly later.
- High correlation between ASSRs and BHTs (0.92) was observed, with minimal mean differences in dB across frequencies.
Conclusions:
- Multiple-frequency ASSRs are a time-efficient and objective method for estimating frequency-specific hearing thresholds in infants.
- ASSRs demonstrate superior efficiency and accuracy compared to ABR and BHTs for pediatric hearing assessment.