Early detection of hearing loss in infants by auditory nerve and brain stem responses.

Auditory-nerve and brain-stem-evoked responses (ABR) have been used alongside standard behavioral hearing tests for the early detection of hearing loss in infants and young children. Two comparisons are presented. The first concerns a group of 65 hearing-impaired children for whom we now have complete pure-tone and speech audiograms. There is a good correlation between the two types of hearing tests in 61 children; the lack of correlation in 4 children is discussed. The second comparison was conducted on neonates. Because ABR testing provides information which is far more accurate than behavioral testing, it is recommended for use in high-risk neonates, especially when mass behavioral screening is not feasible.