Comparing auditory steady-state responses amplitude evoked by simultaneous air- and bone-conducted stimulation in newborns

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential interactions of the simultaneous presentation of air- and bone-conducted stimuli on auditory steady-state responses (ASSR) amplitude in newborns. Design: Bone- and air-conducted stimuli were sinusoidal carrier tones of 500 and 2000 Hz respectively modulated in amplitude (95% depth). Air- and bone- conducted stimuli were either simultaneously recorded in the same ear using insert earphones and bone vibrator respectively, or recorded individually (single stimulation). Study sample: Sixty-nine well babies (135 ears) with ages ranging from 1 to 16 days (mean of 9.2 ± 7.9 days) were tested in this study. Results: No significant changes in ASSR amplitude by air-conducted stimuli were observed when evoked by simultaneous or single stimulation. The same trend prevailed for ASSR amplitudes evoked by bone-conducted stimuli. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the simultaneous stimulation of air-and bone-conducted stimuli does not alter ASSR amplitude values in well babies. Therefore, the results support the use of this technique as a potential hearing screening tool to discriminate between conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.

Key Words:

• Auditory steady-state response
• simultaneous air and bone stimulation
• occlusion effect

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Elsa Santos, Eduardo Martinez, and Jason Mikiel-Hunter for their methodological and writing suggestions while preparing the manuscript. We would like to acknowledge the two anonymous reviewers for their critical reading and valuable comments during the revision process.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.