Hearing thresholds in the rabbit. A behavioral and electrophysiological study.

Thresholds of audibility were determined in rabbits with a behavioral 'conditioned suppression' technique and with brain stem evoked response to band-pass (1/3 and 1/1 octave) filtered sine waves. Both techniques yield threshold curves with the same shape, the ABR threshold being 10-20 dB less sensitive. In rabbits with cochlear lesions (noise or kanamycin), hearing losses obtained with the two methods are very similar. It is concluded that the hearing threshold in rabbits can be obtained both electrophysiologically and behaviorally with techniques suitable for experimental auditory research.