Ear and Hearing · 1992 · 30 citations · 0 references
Health ProfessionsAudiologyPediatricsChild DevelopmentClinical AudiologyPediatric AudiologyAuditory DevelopmentHearing HealthHearing ImpairmentHearing LossPediatric Diagnostic AudiologyPediatric Hearing AssessmentBehavioral Hearing AssessmentHearing Assessment In NeonatesInfant Audiometric AssessmentInfant Hearing ScreeningPediatric Audiometric AssessmentPediatric AudiometryResponsivenessVisual Reinforcement Audiometry
The study examined how corrected and mental age affect visual reinforcement audiometry performance in 60 premature infants. VRA performance was categorized as unacceptable, marginal, or acceptable based on conditionability and the number of responses before habituation. Results showed that corrected age of ≥8 months or mental age of ≥6 months is required for acceptable VRA performance, and poor responsiveness at younger ages likely indicates hearing loss rather than developmental delay, suggesting that large‑scale behavioral hearing screening is not warranted for infants below these ages. Ear Hear 13(3):187‑194.
The purpose of this investigation was to study the relationship between visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) performance and age (i.e., corrected and mental) with 60 premature infants. VRA performance was classified as unacceptable, marginal, or acceptable based on conditionability and number of responses obtained before habituation to the task. The results indicated that mental age and corrected age were significantly related to VRA performance. It was found that a corrected age of 8 mo and/ or a mental age of 6 mo is typically required for acceptable performance using VRA. A lack of responsiveness to the VRA procedure at these ages would most likely be due to hearing loss as opposed to a general developmental delay. The data from this study would not support a large scale behavioral hearing screening program for premature infants below 8 mo corrected age or 6 mo mental age. (Ear Hear 13 3:187-194)