Interpeak Intervals of Auditory Brainstem Response, Interaural Differences in Normal-Hearing Subjects and Patients with Sensorineural Hearing Loss

ABR recordings were made on 31 normal-hearing subjects and 253 patients with sensorineural hearing loss (86 patients with unilateral hearing loss, 61 patients with asymmetrical hearing loss, 34 patients with symmetrical hearing loss, 55 patients with noise-induced hearing loss and 17 patients in the late chronic stage of Menière's disease). In the patient group with unilateral hearing loss, the mean interpeak interval (IPI) I-V was significantly shorter than in normal-hearing subjects. The interaural IPI differences provide a sharp criterion for early detection of acoustic neuroma. The calculation of the 95%-limits (means + 1.96 SD) showed that in patients with normal hearing or with unilateral or symmetrical hearing loss an interaural difference in the IPII-V greater than 0.2 ms has to be considered as an indication of a neuroma or any other brainstem abnormality. In patients with asymmetrical or with noise-induced hearing loss, the limit is 0.3 ms. In contrast to the frequently recommended interaural wave V latency difference criterion, the interaural IPI difference criterion requires no correction for audiogram differences.