Findings of the Auditory Steady State Response in children with normal hearing

Abstract

Introduction: The Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR) is an objective technique for hearing evaluation. This new tool can be performed in several frequencies in both ears at the same time. The method consists on modulating the amplitude of each stimulus with a different frequency and presenting them simultaneously. Objective: To describe the findings of the ASSR for children with normal hearing, in the frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz, presented in both ears simultaneously. Method: Fourteen children with normal hearing, ages between 2 and 19 months old were evaluated using ASSR evoked by multiple simultaneous stimuli with frequencies at 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz and modulation between 77 and 103 Hz in both ears. Results: The responses observed in the ASSR ranged between 6 and 17,2 dBNAcg. There was no significant difference between right and left ears. Conclusions: The ASSR is a viable technique, which is able to predict the audiometric status, specifying the degree and configuration of the hearing loss. The ASSR can be included in the clinical routine for pediatric hearing evaluation, specially for children who can not present consistent responses to behavioral hearing evaluation.