Maturation of Auditory Brainstem Responses in Babies from Birth to 6 Months of Age

Abstract

Objective: Newborn hearing screening plays an important role in making a diagnosis within the first six months of life in congenital hearing losses. In this age group, the infant's maturation is influential in the evaluation of the Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) test, which is important in diagnosis. Because many ABR characteristics vary with age, age-related maturational values must be established for all populations to be evaluated. The purpose of the present study was to establish age-related maturational changes for infants aged 0-6 months. Material and Methods: ABR was measured in 180 subjects from 0 months to 6 months of age. Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emission (TEOAE), Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (AABR) and diagnostic ABR tests were performed respectively for each subject. Results: In our study, maturational data of ABR absolute latencies and interpeak latencies obtained at different age groups and stimuli intensity level were presented. According to our study results, absolute latencies of waves I, III, V, and I-III, III-V, I-V interpeak latencies decreased as a function of advancing age. While absolute latencies of waves I, III, V showed a systematic increase, I-III, III-V, I-V interpeak latencies decreased as stimulus intensity decreased from 80 dB nHL to 20 dB nHL. To our results, there were no significant differences between gender and ears in terms of wave absolute latencies and interpeak latencies. Conclusion: Knowledge on the ABR characteristics within first six months of life will enable clinicians to discriminate normal situations from pathologic ones in diagnosing hearing loss for the infant population.