AMPLITUDE-MODULATION FOLLOWING RESPONSE IN CHILDREN AS A CLINICAL AUDIOMETRIC TOOL

The current study was designed to investigate the clinical application of amplitude modulation following response (AMFR) in cochlear implant candidates. A new digital signal processor (DSP)-assisted PC-based ha rdware and software was developed to perform both simultaneous generat ion of amplitude-modulated stimuli and the recording, and syncyhronize d signal processing of the electrode signals. Our first results show t hat AMFR can be recorded in adults as well as in children without any contamination by response-like stimulus artifacts. Very high sound pre ssures levels can be applied, allowing frequency-specific assessment o f residual hearing. Response threshold detection, using spectral analy sis, proved to be superior compared to visual evaluation of average ti me waveforms.