[Frequency specific information retrieved from compound action potentials--model investigations and clinical results...

It is the aim of electrochleographic assessments to determine with sufficient accuracy the hearing threshold in the frequency range usually covered by subjective audiometric investigations. An optimal result would be an "objective" audiogram comparable to the subjective one. In the present paper, difficulties and limits which are arising during the retrieval of frequency specific information from compound action potentials are demonstrated on the basis of model experiments. In connection with these experiments a new approach is demonstrated which is based on the reverse process of the physiological formation of the compound action potential. As a result of this method, the excitation pattern at the level of primary auditory neurons is obtained. The efficiency of this technique is shown by means of model simulations as well as by processing derived action potentials recorded from normal hearing subjects.