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Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
Threshold estimation in children using auditory steady-state responses to multiple simultaneous stimuli
Demin Han1, Lingyan Mo, Hui Liu
1Clinical Audiology Center, Beijing Institute of ORL, TongRen Hospital, Capital University of Medical Science, Beijing, China. handm@trhos.com
Insights
Auditory steady-state response (ASSR) effectively estimates hearing thresholds in young children. This objective, frequency-specific method correlates well with behavioral tests, aiding in hearing threshold prediction.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Pediatric Medicine
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Hearing loss in young children presents diagnostic challenges.
- Accurate threshold estimation is crucial for timely intervention.
- Traditional behavioral audiometry can be difficult in infants and toddlers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of auditory steady-state response (ASSR) using multiple simultaneous stimuli for hearing threshold estimation in children.
- To compare ASSR-derived thresholds with behavioral audiometry results.
Main Methods:
- 40 children (6 months–5 years) with sensorineural hearing loss were tested.
- Simultaneous tone pips at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz were presented with varying modulation rates.
- Auditory steady-state response (ASSR) and age-appropriate behavioral tests were administered.
Main Results:
- ASSR thresholds were generally higher than behavioral thresholds (8–15 dB difference).
- ASSR and behavioral thresholds showed significant correlation (p = 0.000).
- A notable discrepancy was observed in a child with auditory neuropathy.
Conclusions:
- Auditory steady-state response (ASSR) to multiple simultaneous stimuli is an objective and frequency-specific tool.
- ASSR reliably predicts behavioral hearing thresholds in young children.
- This technique offers a valuable method for pediatric audiological assessment.
Objective:
It was the aim of this study to explore the use of auditory steady-state response (ASSR) to multiple simultaneous stimuli for threshold estimation in young children.
Method:
The subjects consisted of 40 children, aged from 6 months to 5 years, with variant degrees of sensorineural hearing loss. Simultaneous tonepips (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz) with an amplitude modulated at different rates from 77 to 103 Hz were presented to both ears by insert phones. All children were tested with ASSR and age-appropriate behavioral tests.
Results:
We found that (1) ASSR thresholds were usually higher than behavioral thresholds with a difference of 8-15 dB, (2) the behavioral thresholds were significantly correlated with ASSR thresholds (p = 0.000), and (3) there was a great difference between ASSR thresholds and behavioral thresholds found in a child with auditory neuropathy.
Conclusion:
Being objective, frequency specific and well correlated with behavioral thresholds, ASSR to multiple simultaneous stimuli was proven to be a good tool to predict behavioral hearing thresholds.
