Aided Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials in Infants With Frequency-Specific Synthetic Speech Stimuli: Sensitivity, Repeatability, and Feasibility.
Anisa S Visram, Michael A Stone, Suzanne C Purdy and 14 others
PMID 37019441WHAT IT FOUND
Aided cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) are feasible and acceptable for infants aged 3 to 7 months.
A single test session misses many audible responses, but repeating the test significantly improves detection rates. Consistent non-detection across repeated tests indicates true lack of audibility.
Key findings
01Repeat testing significantly improves CAEP detection rates for audible stimuli, reducing false negatives.
02The test is clinically feasible with a completion rate over 99% and a median duration of 24 minutes.
03Infant vocalization during testing is associated with a lower likelihood of detecting a CAEP response.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Sensation level (SL) was calculated based on input to the hearing aid, not output, so hearing aid compression may have caused an overestimation of the SL actually experienced by the child. Some infants had abnormal tympanograms (middle ear fluid) at one or both sessions, which complicates the precise calculation of audibility. The study used a mobile van with flexible scheduling, which likely contributed to the high completion rate; clinic-based testing may face more logistical challenges. VRA MRLs are not true thresholds and are typically higher, which may have led to an underestimation of the true SL.
Declared interests
The study was supported by non-U.S. government funding. John Marston funded the bespoke hearing research van. No commercial conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret a single absent CAEP response as evidence that the infant cannot hear the stimulus. Non-detection is common even when the sound is audible, so repeat testing is essential before concluding lack of audibility.