Karikoski J O, Marttila T I, Jauhiainen T
Department of Audiology, Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.
Scand Audiol. 1998;27(3):183-7. doi: 10.1080/010503998422700.
The aim was to examine the accuracy of unconditioned behavioural observation audiometry (BOA) in predicting hearing acuity in children and the validity of test results at various frequencies. The study was designed to longitudinally compare each child's best BOA response level (at the age >12 months) with the conclusive pure-tone threshold of the better ear. The subjects were 119 children derived from a material of 353 children fitted with a hearing aid at Helsinki University Central Hospital. BOA was carried out on 119 children, 19 of whom did not respond to frequency-specific stimuli. The predictive power of BOA depended on the severity of hearing loss. At the hearing level of 30-39 dB, BOA registered 10-15 dB poorer levels than the pure-tone audiometry. The pure-tone averages (0.5, 1, 2 kHz) of 50-69 dB agreed best with the BOA responses. In severe impairments (more than 70 dB HL), the BOA registered too good hearing. Correlation of the results from the two modes to measure hearing level was highly significant (r = 0.71, p = 0.000), and the pure-tone hearing level agreed with that of BOA at the frequencies 0.5 to 4 kHz. Our results show that BOA averages < or =30 dB rarely indicate hearing loss demanding fitting of a hearing aid.
本研究旨在检验非条件行为观察测听法（BOA）预测儿童听力敏锐度的准确性以及不同频率测试结果的有效性。该研究旨在纵向比较每个儿童（年龄>12个月）最佳的BOA反应水平与较好耳的纯音阈值。研究对象为来自赫尔辛基大学中心医院353名佩戴助听器儿童中的119名。对这119名儿童进行了BOA测试，其中19名儿童对特定频率刺激无反应。BOA的预测能力取决于听力损失的严重程度。在听力水平为30 - 39 dB时，BOA记录的水平比纯音听力测试低10 - 15 dB。50 - 69 dB的纯音平均值（0.5、1、2 kHz）与BOA反应最为吻合。在严重听力障碍（超过70 dB HL）时，BOA记录的听力状况过好。两种测量听力水平方法的结果相关性非常显著（r = 0.71，p = 0.000），且在0.5至4 kHz频率范围内，纯音听力水平与BOA的结果一致。我们的结果表明，BOA平均值≤30 dB很少表明需要佩戴助听器的听力损失。
