Clinical applications of the auditory brain stem response.

The auditory brain stem response is a powerful new tool for the detection and quantification of hearing impairment, especially in the pediatric population. It gives exact information about the functional status of the cochlea and brain stem pathways. The technique distinguishes recruiting from nonrecruiting losses, predominantly high frequency from flat losses, and retrocochlear from peripheral disorders. The recent introduction of bone conducted stimuli should soon permit the unambiguous separation of conductive and sensorineural losses.