Search

The frequency specificity of the ABR threshold evoked by a 1000-Hz filtered click was determined in subjects with sloping cochlear hearing losses, both high- and low-frequency in character. The results show that the ABR threshold evoked by this stimulus is low-frequency specific. The standard error in estimating the 1000-Hz pure-tone threshold (PTT) is 10.4 dB, which equals that for estimating the 3 000-Hz PTT from the routinely used click-evoked ABR threshold [1]. The ABR threshold evoked by a 1000-Hz filtered click can therefore be regarded as an accurate tool to predict the pure-tone hearing loss at 1000-Hz. In comparison with the ABR threshold evoked by a click masked with 1590-Hz high-pass noise [6], the ABR threshold evoked by a 1000-Hz filtered click has a larger dynamic range, yields a larger number of useful responses and is less time consuming. For clinical low-frequency-specific ABR threshold assessment, the 1000-Hz filtered click is therefore preeminently useful.

In this study, the frequency specificity of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) threshold to a click masked with 1590-Hz high-pass masking noise is compared with the frequency specificity of the unmasked click-evoked ABR threshold. The ABR threshold to the high-pass-noise-masked click stimulus is low frequency specific and corresponds with the 1,000-Hz pure-tone threshold. Although the ABR threshold to the unmasked click stimulus corresponds with the '3,000'-Hz pure-tone threshold, the frequency specificity seems much less pronounced than that of the low-frequency-specific stimulus. This study shows, however, that this apparent lack of frequency specificity can be attributed to the selection of pure-tone hearing losses. The ABR threshold evoked by an unmasked click stimulus is, therefore, preeminently useful as a high-frequency point of a two-point audiogram. The possible reasons why the ABR threshold evoked by a broad-band stimulus as the unmasked click corresponds with the higher frequencies of the pure-tone audiogram are discussed.

The pure-tone masking technique has been employed to determine the contributions of neural activity from different cochlear regions to the click-evoked auditory brain stem response (compound ABR). ABR to broad-band clicks were recorded without and with simultaneous presentation of pure tones of frequencies ranging from 8 to 0.5 kHz. Derived ABRs for individual frequency bands were obtained by subtracting the masked responses from the unmasked ones. To determine the contributions to the compound ABR, masked and derived ABRs were compared with unmasked responses. The frequency specificity of the contributions was more distinct at lower rather than at higher stimulus intensities. Independent of stimulus intensity, the 8- to 2-kHz regions turned out to be the main sources of waves I-V in the compound ABR, whereas waves VI and VII seem to be predominantly generated by contributions from regions specific for 1 and 0.5 kHz. The main advantage of the pure-tone masking technique as compared with the tone pip stimulation is that contributions from the low-frequency regions become more clearly detectable. The validity of this technique has been proved by comparing the compound ABR with the sum of the derived ABRs. The comparison of ABRs derived by pure-tone masking with those derived by conventional high-pass noise masking did prove the validity of the technique as well.

Early/middle auditory-evoked potentials were recorded on 10 normal-hearing adults using 500-, 1 000, and 2 000-Hz tone bursts having 4-ms rise-fall and 1-ms plateau times. The stimuli were presented in quiet, white noise and notched noise at 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10 dB nHL. The noises were selected to improve frequency specificity by masking those regions of the cochlea that do not correspond to the test stimulus. The recording-amplifier system had a bandpass of 55-1 500 Hz; electric activity was measured during the 25-ms post-stimulus interval. The three waves observed during this time interval (P10, N15, and P20) were labeled to reflect polarity and latency. The results revealed no differences among stimulus conditions (quiet, white noise, notched noise) in the number of identifiable responses for any wave at any intensity. Moreover, no P10, N15 or P20 latency differences were observed among conditions at 40 dB nHL and below. When 500-Hz tone bursts were presented at 50 dB nHL, however, significantly shorter response latencies were observed in quiet than when the tone bursts were mixed with white noise or notched noise. It was concluded that frequency specificity can be improved when tone bursts are mixed with notched noise or white noise. White noise is preferred, however, because it can be implemented with less complex instrumentation and calibration than notched noise.

This study was designed to explore the possibility of using facilitation of the acoustic reflex to determine peripheral frequency selectivity. Changes in reflex magnitude in response to a 2000-Hz tone burst presented at 5 dB above reflex threshold were measured as a function of the frequency and level of a facilitating stimulus presented in a nonsimultaneous paradigm. 3 normally-hearing adults served as subjects. Results reveal that acoustic reflex facilitation does not appear to be a frequency-dependent phenomenon thus suggesting that the tonotopic organization of the cochlea is not preserved at the site of reflex facilitation.

The recently discovered slow negative brain stem response at 10 ms (SN10) was investigated as a tool for assessment of hearing in 20 newborns and 20 adults. Tone pips of 500, 1 000 and 2 000 Hz and a click were presented at 60, 40 and 20 dB re normal hearing level. The SN10 response varied systematically as a function of frequency and intensity. SN10 was not observed for all stimuli, but percentages of detection improved as frequency and intensity increased. Newborns demonstrated significantly longer latencies than adults for all stimuli. The results suggest that SN10 is a reliable indicator of peripheral hearing for frequencies of 1 000 Hz and higher.