ABR recordings in newborns using an ear canal electrode

ISSN： 1499-2027

Source： International Journal of Audiology, Vol.47, Iss.8, 2008-08, pp. : 499-504

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

The objective of this study was to improve the sensitivity of ABR recordings in newborns via a procedure that utilizes the ear canal as a recording site. Conventional recordings were compared to ear canal recordings of the ABR in 45 normally-hearing newborns who passed their newborn hearing screening. Responses were obtained at stimulus levels of 80, 60, 40, and 20 dBnHL using forehead (+) to ear canal (-), versus forehead (+) to mastoid (-) electrode configurations. ABR parameters evaluated included measurement of component amplitudes of wave I and V, absolute latencies of I and V, the I-V interwave interval, and amplitude ratio. At stimulus levels of 80, 60, and 40 dBnHL, wave I amplitude was significantly larger using the ear canal configuration. This investigation shows that the amplitude of wave I is significantly larger and easier to identify when the ear canal is used as one of the recording sites in comparison to more conventional scalp (mastoid) recordings.