A new technique for interpreting the BAER in cochlear disease.

We found, by studying 20 normal ears and 34 ears with cochlear disease, that the brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) wave I latency was a good predictor of the I-V interval (r = -0.67, p less than 0.001), whereas hearing loss had little predictive value. The normal and hearing-loss groups generated regression lines (wave I latency vs I-V latency) that did not differ significantly from each other. A normal range of I-V intervals can be established for any wave I latency, increasing the sensitivity of the BAER.