Estimating hearing thresholds using electro-physical measures in infants, children and difficult to test patients is an especially challenging task.
Auditory Brainstem Response has been used for electro-physical measurements since 30 years. However, there are some limitations to its precision and the degree of hearing loss that it can predict.
Auditory Steady State Response is an auditory evoked potential, elicited with modulated tones that can be used to predict hearing sensitivity in patients of all ages. It will yield a frequency specific prediction of the hearing threshold, so call Estimated Audiogram.
As an Auditory Steady State Response system provides a frequency specific threshold in form of an audiogram it makes it a convenient tool for succeeding hearing instrument fitting. Another advantage over Auditory Brainstem Response is that it works more time efficient as it measures thresholds for different frequencies simultaneously.
Although Auditory Steady State Response is widely acknowledged as the new standard of hearing threshold estimation it should be ALWAYS cross-checked with other test methods as Auditory Brainstem Response, Otoacoustic Emissions, Tympanometry, Acoustic Reflex and Visual Reinforcement Audiometry.
