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Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
[Tone-pip auditory brainstem response and auditory steady-state response of infants with normal hearing.]
Qian Lin1, Xing-Qi Li, Li-Li Xiang
1Department of Pediatric, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250014, China.
Insights
This study tracked hearing development in infants using tone-pip auditory brainstem response (ABR) and auditory steady-state response (ASSR). Tone-pip ABR showed lower thresholds than ASSR, suggesting it may better reflect infant hearing levels.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Pediatric Audiology
- Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Understanding auditory development in infants is crucial for early identification of hearing impairments.
- Auditory brainstem response (ABR) and auditory steady-state response (ASSR) are key electrophysiological tools for assessing infant hearing.
- Longitudinal studies tracking hearing maturation in normal-hearing infants are essential for establishing normative data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To longitudinally estimate tone-pip auditory brainstem response (ABR) and auditory steady-state response (ASSR) thresholds in normal infants up to 6 months of age.
- To compare the efficacy of tone-pip ABR and ASSR in assessing hearing thresholds across a frequency range of 0.25–8 kHz.
- To evaluate the developmental changes in auditory pathway maturation reflected by these electrophysiological measures.
Main Methods:
- Tone-pip ABR and ASSR were recorded in 160 normal-hearing infants across four age groups: 2–4 days, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months.
- Thresholds were determined using tone-pip ABR and ASSR for stimuli at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 kHz.
- Analysis focused on latency changes and threshold comparisons between the two ABR techniques.
Main Results:
- Wave and inter-wave latencies for click ABR decreased with age, indicating auditory pathway maturation.
- Tone-pip ABR demonstrated similar waveforms to click ABR, with improved and shorter latencies at higher frequencies.
- Tone-pip ABR thresholds were significantly lower than ASSR thresholds from 0.5 to 8 kHz (P < 0.05), with both methods showing stable frequency specificity and similar audiogram patterns across age groups.
Conclusions:
- Auditory pathway maturation, evidenced by decreasing ABR latencies, occurs during the first six months of life, while hearing sensitivity remains stable.
- Both tone-pip ABR and ASSR offer reliable frequency-specific hearing assessment in infants.
- Tone-pip ABR, with its lower response thresholds, may provide a more sensitive measure closer to an infant's true hearing level compared to ASSR.
Objective:
To estimate tone-pip auditory brainstem response (tone-pip ABR) and auditory steady-state response (ASSR) thresholds to follow the development of hearing in four groups of normal babies through the first 6 month of life and to make a comparison between the tone-pip ABR and ASSR for 0.25 - 8 kHz frequency range at different groups.
Methods:
The tone-pip ABR and ASSR were recorded in four groups of normal hearing infants (160 ears) at the age of 2 - 4 day, 6 weeks, 3-month and 6-month. Tone-pip ABR and ASSR thresholds were established in 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 kHz stimuli.
Results:
For click ABR, the wave latency of I, III, V and inter-wave latency of I-III, III-V and I-V decreased as the age increase. The developmental changes were obvious in wave I and III before 6 weeks and 3 months respectively. Tone-pip ABR had the similar waveform as the click ABR. With the frequency increasing, their waveforms and wave latencies of I, III and V were getting better and shorter respectively. There was significant difference between the thresholds of tone-pip ABR and ASSR (all P < 0.05). The tone-pip ABR thresholds were significantly lower than those of ASSR from 0.5 to 8 kHz. Both ASSR and tone-pip ABR had similar audiograms for different age of infants with normal hearing.
Conclusions:
The longitudinal findings presented in this study suggest that with the maturational development, the wave latency of I, III, V and inter-wave latency of I-III, III-V and I-V of tone-pip ABR decrease as the age increase, while the hearing sensitivity have no changes. Both tone-pip ABR and ASSR have stable frequency specificity. Compared to the ASSR, tone-pip ABR have lower response threshold and maybe nearer to the hearing level of the infant.
