Maturation of the Occlusion Effect: A Bone Conduction Auditory Steady State Response Study in Infants and Adults With Normal Hearing

Effective Masking Levels for Bone Conduction Auditory Brainstem Response Stimuli in Infants and Adults with Normal Hearing

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the present study was to investigate effective masking levels (EMLs) for bone conduction (BC) auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing in infants and adults. Early hearing detection and intervention programs aim to limit delays in identifying ear-specific type/degree of hearing loss in infants using the ABR. Ear-specific assessment poses challenges as sound delivered to one ear can travel across the skull and activate the contralateral cochlea. Wave V amplitude and latency measures ipsilateral and contralateral to the bone oscillator can be compared to isolate the test cochlea in some cases; however, when these findings are equivocal, clinical masking is required. This study aims to determine EMLs for ABRs elicited to 500- and 2000-Hz BC stimuli for normal-hearing infants (0 to 18 months) and adults.

DESIGN

Participants were 21 adults (18 to 54 years) and 24 infants (5 to 47 weeks) with normal hearing. BC 500- and 2000-Hz brief tonal stimuli at intensities approximating normal levels were presented via a B-71 oscillator (infants: 20 dB nHL at 500 Hz and 30 dB nHL at 2000 Hz; adults: 500 and 2000 Hz at 20 and 30 dB nHL, respectively). White noise masking was presented binaurally via ER-3A earphones (22 to 82 dB SPL; 10-dB steps). The lowest level of masking to eliminate a BC response was deemed the EML.

RESULTS

For stimuli presented at 20 dB nHL, adult mean (1 SD) EMLs for 500 and 2000 Hz were 65 (9) and 53 (6) dB SPL, respectively. Mean EMLs for infants were 80 (6) dB SPL for 500 Hz at 20 dB nHL and 64 (9) dB SPL for 2000 Hz at 30 dB nHL. Compared to adults, infants required approximately 13 dB more masking at 500 Hz but a similar amount of masking at 2000 Hz. Infants required 26 dB more masking at 500 versus 2000 Hz, whereas, adults required only 12 dB more masking.

CONCLUSIONS

Maximum binaural EMLs for infant BC responses elicited to 500 Hz at 20 dB nHL are 82 dB SPL, and for 2000 Hz at 30 and 40 dB nHL, respectively, are 72 and 82 dB SPL. Monaural masking levels for the nontest ear (assuming 10 dB of interaural attenuation) recommended clinically are as follows: (1) 500 Hz: 72 and 82 dB SPL at 20 and 30 dB nHL, respectively; and (2) 2000 Hz: 62, 72, and 82 dB SPL at 30, 40, and 50 dB nHL, respectively. Unsafe levels of white noise would be needed to effectively mask at greater stimulus levels.

A technique for estimating the occlusion effect for frequencies below 125 Hz

OBJECTIVES

The level of bone-conducted sound in the auditory meatus is increased at low frequencies by occlusion of the meatus, for example, by the earmold of a hearing aid (HA). Physical measures of this "occlusion effect" (OE) require vibration of the skull. In previous research, either self-voicing or audiometric bone conduction vibrators were used to produce this vibration, with the result that the OE could not be measured for frequencies below 125 Hz. However, frequencies below this can be important for music perception by HA users. The objective was to develop and evaluate a method that gives a lower-bound estimate of the OE for frequencies below 125 Hz.

DESIGN

A low-noise amplifier with extended low-frequency response was used to record the output of a miniature microphone inserted into the meatus of participants. The signal came from sounds of the heartbeat and blood flow of the participant, transmitted via bone conduction through the walls of the meatus. A simultaneous recording was made of the carotid pulse to permit time-locked averaging (and hence noise reduction) of the microphone signal. Recordings were made from 7 otologically and audiometrically normal participants, using clinical probe tips to produce the occlusion. Recordings were also made from an overlapping group of 9 participants, using fast-setting impression material to provide a more consistent degree of occlusion. The difference in level of the recorded signal for unoccluded and occluded conditions provided a lower bound for the magnitude of the OE.

RESULTS

The mean OE increased with decreasing frequency, reaching a plateau of about 40 dB for frequencies below 40 Hz. For some individual recordings, the OE reached 50 dB for frequencies below 20 Hz. With occlusion, the heartbeat became audible for most participants.

CONCLUSIONS

The OE can be very large at low frequencies. The use of HAs with closed fittings, which may be used either to prevent acoustic feedback or to allow amplification of low frequencies, may lead to an unacceptable OE. The authors suggest reducing the OE with the use of a seal deep in the meatus, where the wall of the meatus is more rigid.