Pure-tone audiometry of patients with auditory brainstem response abnormalities

To determine the pure-tone thresholds of patients with brainstem disorders, pure-tone audiometry was done on 22 patients with partial auditory brainstem response wave disappearance (including wave I response, wave I-III response, and wave I-IV response). This group of patients was selected since partial wave disappearance indicates pathology of the auditory nerve and/or the brainstem auditory pathway. The pure-tone threshold of these patients was essentially normal or very mildly impaired, except for patients with an acoustic tumor or an other cerebellopontine angle tumor.