[Acoustic evoked potentials in presbycusis]

Abstract

Investigations concerning presbyacusis indicate that the ageing process of the hearing organ is mostly influenced by changes in the sensory-neural pathways. Psychoacoustic measurements give only reduced information on the peripheral and central part of the hearing organ. To verify changes of transport processes in the hearing organ caused by age we examined different evoked potentials. Occurrence probability of positive wave-complexes, input-output functions of amplitude and latency and particular changes in response pattern are analyzed. The results are controled by a signal-analyzer-system using the classical t-test. Thus we could prove data of three age groups and of sex-differences. Our examination partically confirm morphological and histological data of reduced transport processes in most regions of the auditory pathays.