Comparison of MASTER and AUDERA for measurement of auditory steady-state responses

Two approaches to assess auditory steady-state responses (ASSR) are compared under similar test conditions: a monaural single-frequency technique with a detection method based on phase coherence (AUDERA), and a binaural multiple-frequency technique using the F-test (MASTER). ASSR thresholds at four frequencies were assessed with both methods in both ears of ten normal-hearing and ten hearing-impaired adult subjects, within a test duration of one hour. The test-retest reliability and the influence of prolonging the test duration are assessed. For the total subject group the multiple-frequency technique outperforms the single-frequency technique. In hearing-impaired subjects, however, both techniques perform equally well. Hearing thresholds can be estimated with a standard error of the estimate between 7 and 12 dB dependent on frequency. About 55% of the estimates are within 5 dB of the behavioral hearing threshold, and 94% within 15 dB. Prolonging the test duration improves the performance of both techniques.