Stability of Early Auditory Evoked Potential Components Over Extended Test-Retest Intervals in Young Adults.
Rebecca E Bieber, Katharine Fernandez, Chris Zalewski and 2 others
PMID 33136623WHAT IT FOUND
Wave I amplitude from early auditory evoked potentials stayed stable across repeated visits in young adults with normal hearing.
The measure was most reliable with ear canal click recordings, but this does not prove it diagnoses hearing damage.
Key findings
01Wave I amplitude did not differ across test visits.
02Wave I reliability was good to excellent for ear canal recordings.
03Summating potential measures showed much lower stability.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only a small group of healthy young adults, so it does not show stability in older adults, people with hearing loss, or people with auditory complaints. The testing was long and done under research conditions, so it may not be practical in a clinic. No criterion was established for what counts as an abnormal wave I amplitude or a clinically important change. Participants were all awake and protected during scanner exposure, and hearing was stable, so the study cannot show what happens when hearing changes. Manual peak picking was used; automated methods were not compared.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read wave I stability as evidence that wave I amplitude can diagnose cochlear synaptopathy or hidden hearing loss. The study only showed that the measure stayed stable in healthy young adults under a lengthy research protocol, and it did not establish abnormal values or a clinically significant change threshold.