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A developmental study of bone conduction auditory brain stem response in infants
E Y Yang1, A L Rupert, G Moushegian
1School of Human Communication Disorders, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Insights
Temporal bone placement for bone conduction auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing in infants yields shorter wave V latencies. This method enhances the reliability of ABR as a diagnostic tool for infants.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Bone conduction auditory brainstem response (ABR) is a valuable tool for assessing infant hearing.
- Understanding developmental differences in ABR is crucial for accurate diagnosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of vibrator placement on bone conduction ABR in infants and adults.
- To assess the interaural attenuation of bone conduction stimuli using masking in different age groups.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted: vibrator placement and masking.
- Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were recorded from newborns, 1-year-olds, and adults.
- Vibrator placements included frontal, occipital, and temporal bones, with and without ipsilateral masking.
Main Results:
- Temporal bone placements resulted in significantly shorter wave V latencies in neonates and 1-year-olds compared to frontal or occipital placements.
- Differences in wave V latencies were minimal in adults across different vibrator placements.
- Interaural attenuation was greatest in neonates and smallest in adults for bone conduction click stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Temporal bone placement is recommended for bone conduction ABR testing in infants and 1-year-olds in specific situations.
- Bone conduction ABR is a feasible and reliable diagnostic method for infant hearing assessment.
- Findings highlight developmental variations in auditory pathway processing relevant to ABR testing.
Abstract:
Two studies, vibrator placement and masking, were performed to evaluate the developmental aspect of bone conduction auditory brain stem response (ABR) in human infants. Subject groups included newborns, 1-yr-olds, and adults. In the vibrator studies, ABRs were obtained from placements of the bone conduction vibrator on the frontal, occipital, and temporal bones. Results showed that temporal placements in neonates and 1-yr-olds produce significantly shorter wave V latencies of ABR than frontal or occipital placements. In adults, differences of wave V latencies from various vibrator placements were comparatively small. In the masking studies, ABRs were acquired from vibrator placements at the temporal bone in the presence of ipsilateral air conducted masking noise from the experimental groups. Results showed that interaural attenuations of bone conduction click stimuli are the largest in neonates, somewhat smaller from 1-yr-olds, and the smallest in adults. The findings of this research strongly suggest that temporal placements for bone conduction ABR should be used, in some instances, when testing infants and 1-yr-olds. The results of this study support the proposition that bone conduction ABR is a feasible and reliable diagnostic tool in testing infants.