[Objective determination of auditory threshold in the child].

In children who are difficult to test with dubious behavioural-audiometric results, brainstem electric response audiometry (BERA) is today the method of choice for accurate determination of hearing threshold. Oral sedation with the shortacting neuroleptic chloroprothixene allows BERA to be performed on an outpatient basis. Thirty-six girls and 41 boys aged between 11 weeks and 12 years (median age 40 months) with inconsistent behavioural-audiometric findings were examined. Frequency-following responses were searched for in flat fast response curves. BERA proved to be a very sensitive method compared with behavioural audiometry and was reliable even for children who are difficult to evaluate clinically, and for asymmetrical auditory thresholds. In conjunction with the standard pedaudiological test battery, BERA improves diagnostic accuracy and causes little disturbance as an outpatient procedure.