Syracuse University

Ear-Resistible Babies

Dr. Prieve uses many common clinical tests to assess hearing.  We are investigating new procedures of commonly used clinical tests. We test infants who pass or do not pass newborn hearing screenings, and children of all ages, especially those who suffer from ear infections. When these tests are done as part of funded research projects, there is no cost to the family or insurance carriers.  A clinical report can be sent to your child’s doctor if you wish.  Not all of these tests would necessarily be done with every child. 

Testing Procedures

Four places on the scalp are washed and soft, spongy disks that adhere lightly to the child’s head are put on the washed places.  Sensors are attached to the soft, spongy disks.  The sensors pick up the brain waves to soft, short sounds sent through earphones and a computer analyzes them.  We can tell if a child is hearing the sound. In our lab, children are tested during natural sleep. This test takes approximately 1 hour. 

Auditory Brainstem Response

Otoacoustic emissions are soft sounds that come out of healthy ears and tell us if an ear is sensitive to sound.  A small plug is placed into the end of a child’s ear canal.  She/he hears soft sounds that change in pitch and loudness, but they are not loud enough to damage the hearing.  This test takes approximately 15 minutes. 

We are also working on a project involving the use of fine-structure Otoacoustic emissions to identify mild hearing loss; this takes about 45 minutes.

 

Otoacoustic Emissions

This test gives us an idea if there is fluid in the middle ear. For this test, a small plug fits in the child’s ear.  She/he will hear a tone and feel a slight pressure change in the ear canal.  This test takes approximately 5 minutes.

Tympanometry

This test gives us an idea of how the middle ear is working. A small plug will be placed in the opening of the child’s ear canal and the child will hear a series of “chirps”.  This test takes about 5 minutes. 

Wideband Reflectance

We look in the child’s ears with a light. 

Otoscopy

Behavioral Tests

Sounds are played in the child’s ears and when the child hears a sound, he/she is reinforced to turn his/her head towards an animated toy or a monitor.