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Updated: Oct 5, 2025
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Auditory Brainstem Response with the iChirp stimuli in the infant's audiological diagnosis
Julia Dalcin Pinto1, Laura Lúcia Motta Forneck1, Laís Ferreira1
1Speech Therapy Department, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil.
Insights
The iChirp stimulus shows promise for infant audiological diagnosis, offering better wave morphology and efficiency in auditory threshold testing. Normative data are now available for clinical use.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Infant audiological diagnosis relies on Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) testing.
- Traditional stimuli like click and tone burst have limitations in waveform analysis for infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of the iChirp stimulus against traditional ABR stimuli in infants.
- To establish reference values for iChirp stimuli in infant audiological assessment.
Main Methods:
- Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) was recorded in 62 infants using Smart-Ep equipment.
- Stimuli included click, iChirp-broadband, tone burst, and iChirp-narrowband at various intensities and frequencies.
- Data were analyzed using Student's t-test.
Main Results:
- iChirp stimuli (broadband and narrowband) demonstrated higher latency and amplitude compared to click and tone burst.
- iChirp-narrowband showed superior signal-to-noise ratios over tone burst.
- Reference values for iChirp-broadband and iChirp-narrowband in infant ABR were established.
Conclusions:
- The iChirp stimulus is a promising tool for infant audiological diagnosis, enhancing waveform identification and auditory threshold assessment.
- Improved wave morphology and amplitude with iChirp facilitate more efficient infant hearing evaluations.
- The availability of normative data supports the clinical integration of iChirp stimuli for infant audiological diagnosis.
Objective:
to investigate the use of the iChirp stimulus in the infant's audiological diagnosis compared to stimuli typically used in the ABR in infants, in addition to suggesting reference values for the assessment of this population.
Methods:
62 infants participated in the study, 29 females and 33 males. The subjects underwent the recording of the Auditory Brainstem Response in the Smart Ep equipment, with the stimuli click, iChirp-broadband, tone burst and iChirp-narrowband, which were presented at three levels of intensity (20 dB, 40 dB and 60 dB) and, for tone burst and iChirp-narrowband stimuli, at different frequencies (0.5, 1 k, 2 k and 4 KHz). The data were later analyzed using Student's t-test.
Results:
In general, the iChirp-broadband and iChirp-narrowband stimuli showed higher latency values and greater amplitudes when compared to click and tone burst stimuli. Furthermore, better signal-to-noise ratios were observed when contrasting iChirp-narrowband with tone burst. Additionally, reference values were established for the assessment of ABR in infants with the iChirp-broadband and iChirp-narrowband in the Smart-Ep equipment.
Conclusion:
The iChirp stimulus appears to be promising in the infant's audiological diagnosis, as its use promoted greater amplitudes and better wave morphology, which facilitates to mark the waveforms and provides greater efficiency in the investigation of the auditory thresholds. The indication of normative data also enables the clinical use of these stimuli in the infant's audiological diagnosis.
