Volume 7 Issue 2
Comparison of Auditory Brainstem Response Peak Measures Using Ear Lobe, Mastoid, and Custom Ear Canal Reference Electrodes
Samuel R. Atcherson, Timothy J. Lim, Page C. Moore and Carlos P. Minaya
1Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, AR, USA
2Department of Biostatistics, University of Arkansasfor Medical Sciences, AR, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Auditory brainstem response (ABR) peak measures were compared for a custom ear canal electrode and traditional mastoid and ear lobe reference electrode sites with the assumption that the ear canal electrode would yield larger Wave I amplitudes. In this study, Waves I, III, and V latencies and amplitudes were measured and compared in twenty participants between the ages of 18 and 50, with particular interest in a potential Wave I advantage using the custom ear canal reference electrode. The statistical analysis suggested that all reference electrode sites yielded comparable results with no statistical differences in peak latency or peak-to-trough amplitude for Waves I, III, and V. Although the custom ear canal electrode did not produce larger Wave I amplitudes over the other two references, a deeper placement of the ear canal electrode might have yielded different results.
Keywords: auditory brainstem response; ear canal; reference electrode; wave I