Objective evaluation of hearing aids fitting efficacy in pediatric populations using cortical auditory evoked...

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs), behavioral aided hearing thresholds, and functional auditory performance to validate CAEPs as an objective tool for assessing hearing aids fitting and to develop an integrated test battery for children with hearing loss.

Thirty children (aged 24-60 months) with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss were participated in this study. CAEPs were recorded in sound field using the HEARLab™ system in response to three speech stimuli (/m/,/g/,/t/) presented at 55, 65, and 75 dB SPL. Participants were categorized into Group A (CAEPs present for all stimuli at 55 dB SPL, n = 12) and Group B (absent waveforms at 55 dB SPL, n = 18). Aided sound-field thresholds were behaviorally assessed, and functional auditory performance was evaluated using the validated Mandarin version of the Parents' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH) scale.

Group A demonstrated aided thresholds within the speech banana across all tested frequencies, whereas Group B exhibited significantly higher thresholds. CAEPs detectability was strongly dependent on sensation level (SL), with waveforms consistently detected above 10 dB SL. P1 latency decreased significantly with increasing SL (β = -0.513 ms/dB, p < 0.001), while P1 amplitude increased (β = 2.827 μV/dB, p < 0.001). A strong positive correlation was observed between CAEP scores and PEACH questionnaire results (r = 0.884, p < 0.001).

CAEPs provide an objective and frequency-specific neurophysiological method for verifying HAs fitting outcomes in children who are unable to cooperate with conventional subjective testing.