Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Title

Proceedings of the 11th Convention of the European Acoustics Association: Forum Acusticum / EuroNoise 2025

Abstract

The binaural interaction component (BIC) of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) is obtained by subtracting a binaurally-evoked ABR from the sum of monaural left and right ear ABRs. BIC amplitude is modulated by interaural time differences (ITDs) and has been proposed as a biomarker of binaural hearing ability. Traditionally, clicks are used to evoke ABRs; however, chirps are recommended to compensate for the cochlear traveling wave and enhance wave V. Whether chirps improve BIC measurements has not been systematically examined. Here, ABRs and BICs were measured in subjects (n = 6; 21-29 years) for three stimuli; 1) 100-µsec clicks, 2) level-independent CE chirps, and 3) Level-Specific (LS) chirps at four intensities ranging from 65-40 dB nHL. Subjects also completed behavioral testing measuring ITD discrimination thresholds. Compared to clicks, chirps generally elicited larger monaural and binaural wave V and larger BIC amplitudes, particularly at lower intensities. Subjects also exhibited lower ITD thresholds for chirps than clicks, mainly at lower stimulus levels. Chirps may provide an enhancement to ABR wave V and BIC, improving signal-to-noise ratio and reliability. The improved behavioral sensitivity to ITDs with chirps supports the hypothesis that BIC arises from binaural brainstem nuclei that are important for binaural hearing.

DOI

10.61782/fa.2025.0856

Publication Date

6-23-2025

Keywords

auditory brainstem response, binaural interaction component, binaural hearing, interaural time difference

ISSN

3005-7124

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