Which of the following is used for initial screening of auditory function in a neonate?
Most screening programmes for newborn hearing ability uses otoacoustic emission as the initial test. It this test fails then auditory brainstem response is used for screening. Otoacoustic emissions are low level sound emitted spontaneously by the cochlea on presentation of an auditory stimulus. Persons with normal hearing produce oatoacoustic emissions whereas those who have hearing loss of 30-40db HL or greater do not produce OAE. Auditory brainstem response testing is used with babies between the ages of bih and 5 months. It is the electrophysiological response to an acoustic stimulus and originates from the eight cranial nerve and auditory brain stem. It can be used to determine the degree of hearing loss at different audiometric frequencies.
Otoacoustic emission (OAE)
Auditory brainstem response (ABR)
Pure tone audiometry (PTA)
Free field audiometry