Predicting hearing loss from stapedial reflex thresholds in patients with sensorineural impairment

We have demonstrated the elevated reflex thresholds and decreased bandwidth effect in listeners with sensorineural hearing loss, and we have extended this generalization to include those with hearing loss related to presbycusis. A bivariate plotting method has been described for predicting hearing loss from reflex threshold data that is characterized by a low rate of false positives, while successfully identifying those with a moderate degree of hearing loss (greater than 32 dB) more than 80% of the time. We found no evidence of decreasing reflex threshold with age. Instead, our reflex thresholds for normal hearing subjects tend to remain the same or increase slightly as age increases. It is hoped that these findings will stimulate further work to correlate reflex thresholds with hearing levels. This information should be used to test infants (especially those at high risk for hearing loss) and other subjects unable to respond to conventional audiometric testing.