Quick Estimation of Minimum Hearing Levels Using a Binaural Multifrequency Stimulus Paradigm: Proof of Concept

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Conventional auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing for infant hearing assessment is time-consuming.
• Current methods often exceed infant sleep duration, leading to incomplete data and delayed interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel binaural multifrequency stimulation paradigm for efficient ABR testing.
• To reduce ABR data acquisition time while maintaining or improving accuracy for hearing threshold estimation.

Main Methods:

• Developed a binaural multifrequency paradigm presenting interleaved stimuli of different frequencies.
• Recorded ear-specific ABRs in normal-hearing adults using tone-bursts and narrow-band (NB) iChirps at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz.
• Utilized an automatic wave V detection algorithm for enhanced objectivity and speed.

Main Results:

• The binaural multifrequency paradigm estimated hearing levels in approximately 22 minutes, significantly faster than the conventional 45-60+ minutes.
• Narrow-band (NB) iChirps elicited more robust wave V amplitudes and better wave V identification compared to tone-bursts.
• Improved detectability of wave V at lower stimulus levels using NB iChirps led to better hearing threshold estimations.

Conclusions:

• The proposed binaural multifrequency paradigm offers a reliable and rapid method for estimating minimum hearing levels across frequencies.
• This approach can be readily implemented on most commercial ABR systems.
• The paradigm facilitates early hearing identification and intervention by reducing test time and increasing objectivity.