1 Division of Neurology, Group Health Hospital and Medical Center; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195
Audiometry in the neonate most often depends on behavioral or autonomic reactions to an acoustic stimulus.1 A more objective assessment of hearing in the neonate can be obtained using the following techniques: (1) tympanometry, which depends on the mobility of the tympanic membrane2; (2) stapedial reflexes, which require the integrity of the acoustic nerve and its bilateral reflex brainstem connections through the facial nerves to the stapedius muscles and their attachment to the head of the stapes3; and (3) cortical auditory evoked potentials.4 A combination of techniques is often required to adequately test the auditory system of the pediatric patient.5