Development of a portable A-ABR screener using a microprocessor

Hearing loss is one of the most common birth defects among infants. Most hearing-impaired children are not diagnosed until one to three years of age, which is too late to treat for normal speech and language development. If hearing impairment is identified and treated in its early stage, a child´s speech and language skills could be comparable to his or her normal-hearing peers. Auditory brain-stem response (ABR) is nowadays one of the most reliable diagnostic tools in the early detection of hearing impairment. In this study, we applied the `Fsp´ method to distinguish between normal and impaired hearing. We have developed a battery-operated portable automated auditory brainstem response (A-ABR) system that automatically detects hearing impairment in neonates or infants. We partially validated the accuracy of this system in twenty normal-hearing adults.