The clinical value of the multiple-frequency 80-Hz auditory steady-state response in adults with normal hearing and hearing loss.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the ability of the air-conduction multiple-frequency auditory steady-state response (ASSR) technique to diagnose normal hearing (NH) and mild and moderate degrees of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), to assess patients with conductive hearing loss (CHL), to evaluate flat and sloping configurations of hearing impairment, and to provide sensitivity and specificity values for various ASSR cutoff criteria.


METHODS
A comparative study between ASSR and criterion-standard behavioral thresholds.


METHODS
Ear, nose, and throat department at a university hospital.


METHODS
The study population comprised 40 adults with NH, 17 with SNHL, and 7 with CHL.


METHODS
The measure of interest was the difference between ASSR and behavioral thresholds at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 kHz. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and efficiency were calculated for several ASSR cutoff criteria.


RESULTS
The ASSR technique clearly distinguished moderate SNHL from NH, but the "mild SNHL and NH" and "mild SNHL and moderate SNHL" differentiation was particularly difficult at 0.5 and 2.0 kHz, respectively. Air-conduction ASSR thresholds accurately predicted behavioral thresholds in CHL. The ASSR system precisely reflected the flat and sloping configurations. Finally, the most appropriate ASSR cutoff point for normality seems to be the 30-dB-or-lower criterion.


CONCLUSIONS
In adults, the multiple-frequency 80-Hz ASSR technique can be used to determine the degree and configuration of hearing loss. Although air-conduction ASSR thresholds accurately predicted behavioral thresholds in CHL, future research with bone-conduction ASSRs is necessary to establish the type of hearing loss. Furthermore, the applicability of these findings still needs to be confirmed for infants.
D'haenens
Wendy
W
Ear, Nose, and Throat Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. Wendy.Dhaenens@ugent.be
Dhooge
Ingeborg
I
Maes
Leen
L
Bockstael
Annelies
A
Keppler
Hannah
H
Philips
Birgit
B
Swinnen
Freya
F
Vinck
Bart M
BM
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D001844:Bone Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D003939:Diagnostic Techniques, Otological; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012984:Software; D055815:Young Adult