Comparison of the predicted hearing threshold levels obtained by auditory steady state responses with those obtained by auditory brainstem responses and pure tone audiometry in normal hearing adults and children with hearing impairment

This study was performed to evaluate the reliability of auditory steady state responses (ASSR) testing. Eighty-nine normal hearing adults and 50 children with extreme hearing impairment were included in the study. Pure tone audiometry thresholds, thresholds of brainstem auditory evoked responses and predicted ASSR thresholds were recorded in normal hearing subjects and subjects with hearing impairment, and the correlation among them was investigated using Spearman's rho test. Test frequencies were 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz. There was a weak correlation between pure tone thresholds and thresholds of ASSR in subjects with normal hearing. There was a moderate correlation between pure tone thresholds and thresholds of auditory brainstem responses, and ASSR thresholds in subjects with hearing impairment. Results of this study indicate reliability of ASSR thresholds in predicting pure tone audiometry thresholds and thresholds of auditory brainstem responses is not clinically high enough, although it provides information about the level of hearing.