Comparison of auditory brainstem response and behavioral audiometry in infants.

Sixty-three normal hearing infants, ranging from 1 to 12 months of age, were evaluated with Behavioral Observation Audiometry (BOA), Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA), and Auditory Brainstem Response Audiometry (ABR). BOA thresholds decreased with increasing age for infants 0 to 6 months of age, while ABR threshold were essentially constant as a function of subject age. In general, VRA threshold were obtained only for infants over 4 months of age, and were relatively constant for the age range of 4 to 12 months. For neonates, BOA thresholds were significantly higher than ABR thresholds. BOA, VRA, and ABR thresholds tended to converge at a subject age of approximately 6 months, with VRA yielding the lowest and BOA the highest threshold. ABR provided the most consistent threshold for all subjects tested, regardless of age.