Use of disposable ear canal electrodes in auditory brainstem response testing

Abstract

In this study a disposable ear canal electrode and stimulus delivery system (the Enhancer l) was evaluated for its clinical utility and the observed enhancement of the auditory brainstem response Wave I with its use. Data were collected from normally and abnormally hearing subjects, with both the conventional forehead-to-mastoid electrode array and the forehead-to-ear canal electrode arrangement provided by the Enhancer I ear canal electrode setup. For the normally hearing group, simultaneous acquisition of forehead-to-ipsilateral ear canal and forehead-to-ipsilateral mastoid electrode linkages was obtained. For the abnormally hearing subjects, a comparison was made between the Enhancer I system and the conventional forehead-to-mastoid electrode configuration used with a TDH-49 transducer for click delivery. Our findings indicate that Wave I was enhanced substantially when using the disposable ear canal electrode compared with the more conventional forehead-to-mastoid electrode configuration for both normally and abnormally hearing subjects. The Enhancer I electrode evaluated in this study proved to be painless for the subjects and extremely easy to use, requiring no more time in subject preparation than the more common surface recording electrode application.