Abstract:

Objective To construct latency-age function curves of waveⅤin bone-conducted auditory brainstem responses (BC-ABR) across different ages in normal-hearing infants and young children, thereby providing a reference for clinical assessment of BC-ABR thresholds. Methods Infants and young children with normal hearing who visited the Hearing Impairment and Vertigo Diagnosis and Treatment Center from January 2019 to December 2022 were selected as the research subjects. BC-ABRs were recorded at two stimulus intensities (30 dB nHL and threshold level) using click stimuli. The age-latency function model of infants and young children with normal hearing was established, and the Bland-Altman method was used to verify the model. Results A total of 210 infants and young children (410 ears) were included during the study period, including 113 boys (222 ears) and 97 girls (188 ears), with a median age of 5 (3-8) months. Among them, there were 126 ears in the 0-3 months age group, 168 ears in the 4-6 months age group, 66 ears in the 7-12 months age group, and 50 ears in the 13-36 months age group. Significant differences in wave Ⅴ latency were observed among different age groups under both 30 dB nHL and threshold stimulation (P<0.05). The latency-age function model at 30 dB nHL was: Y1=7.227+2.563×e^-0.1596×x, with R²=0.44, and at threshold intensity: Y2=8.171+2.739×e^-0.1432×x, with R²=0.33, where x is age in months. Bland-Altman analysis showed that the proportions of differences between measured and predicted values falling outside the 95% limits of agreement were 3.6% (4/110) and 2.7% (3/110), respectively. Conclusions Wave Ⅴ latency of BC-ABR shortens progressively with increasing age in infants and young children. The latency-age function models established in this study may serve as useful references for clinical applications.

Key words: bone-conduction auditory brainstem response, age-latency, function model, normal hearing, infants and young children