Department of Communication Disorders, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.
Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder.
Am J Audiol. 2021 Mar 10;30(1):28-42. doi: 10.1044/2020_AJA-20-00062. Epub 2020 Dec 2.
Purpose Auditory threshold estimation using the auditory brainstem response or auditory steady state response is limited in some populations (e.g., individuals with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder [ANSD] or those who have difficulty remaining still during testing and cannot tolerate general anesthetic). However, cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) can be recorded in many such patients and have been employed in threshold approximation. Thus, we studied CAEP estimates of auditory thresholds in participants with normal hearing, sensorineural hearing loss, and ANSD. Method We recorded CAEPs at varying intensity levels to speech (i.e., /ba/) and tones (i.e., 1 kHz) to estimate auditory thresholds in normal-hearing adults ( = 10) and children ( = 10) and case studies of children with sensorineural hearing loss and ANSD. Results Results showed a pattern of CAEP amplitude decrease and latency increase as stimulus intensities declined until waveform components disappeared near auditory threshold levels. Overall, CAEP thresholds were within 10 dB HL of behavioral thresholds for both stimuli. Conclusions The above findings suggest that CAEPs may be clinically useful in estimating auditory threshold in populations for whom such a method does not currently exist. Physiologic threshold estimation in difficult-to-test clinical populations could lead to earlier intervention and improved outcomes.
目的 利用听觉脑干反应或听觉稳态反应进行听觉阈值估计在某些人群中受到限制（例如，患有听神经病谱系障碍[ANSD]或在测试过程中难以保持静止且无法耐受全身麻醉的个体）。然而，皮质听觉诱发电位（CAEPs）可以在许多此类患者中记录，并已用于阈值逼近。因此，我们研究了正常听力、感音神经性听力损失和 ANSD 患者的 CAEP 估计听觉阈值。 方法 我们记录了不同强度水平的 CAEPs 对语音（即 /ba/）和音调（即 1 kHz）的反应，以估计正常听力成人（n = 10）和儿童（n = 10）以及患有感音神经性听力损失和 ANSD 的儿童的病例研究中的听觉阈值。 结果 结果表明，随着刺激强度的降低，CAEP 幅度减小，潜伏期增加，直到接近听觉阈值水平时，波形成分消失。总体而言，两种刺激的 CAEP 阈值均在行为阈值的 10 dB HL 以内。 结论 上述发现表明，CAEPs 可能在目前尚无此类方法的人群中估计听觉阈值具有临床意义。在难以测试的临床人群中进行生理阈值估计可能会导致更早的干预和更好的结果。
