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The influence of gender on brainstem auditory evoked potentials’ responses to different stimuli in newborns

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To evaluate the influence of gender on the brainstem auditory evoked potentials V-wave latency and amplitude values in newborns, with different stimuli.

Methods

62 full-term newborns (29 females and 33 males) participated in this study. The electrophysiological threshold of the brainstem auditory evoked potential was investigated with four different stimuli – click, broadband (BB) Ichirp, tone-burst, and specific-frequency (SF) Ichirp –, in intensities of 60, 40 and 20 dBnHL. The genders were compared in each stimulus and intensity.

Results

The results obtained showed lower latency and greater amplitude in females for the click stimulus. However, for tone-burst, the females presented higher latency and greater amplitude. When the BB-Ichirp and SF-Ichirp stimuli were used, the gender did not present a statistically significant difference in the latency and amplitude values.

Conclusion

The BAEP V-wave in newborns is influenced by gender when the click and tone-burst stimuli are used. However, such influence was not noted when the BB-Ichirp and SF-Ichirp stimuli were used.

Keywords:
Auditory evoked potentials; Brainstem auditory evoked potentials; Hearing; Newborn; Electrophysiology

RESUMO

Objetivo

avaliar a influência da variável sexo nos valores da latência e amplitude da onda V do potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico, com diferentes estímulos em neonatos.

Métodos

participaram deste estudo 62 neonatos nascidos a termo (29 do sexo feminino e 33 do sexo masculino). Realizou-se a pesquisa de limiar eletrofisiológico do potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico com quatro estímulos diferentes (clique, Ichirp banda larga-BL, tone burst e Ichirp-frequência específica-FE), nas intensidades de 60, 40 e 20 dBnNA. A variável sexo foi comparada para cada estímulo e intensidade.

Resultados

os resultados obtidos demonstraram menor latência e maior amplitude no sexo feminino para o estímulo clique. Entretanto, para o estímulo tone burst, o sexo feminino apresentou maior latência e maior amplitude. Quando utilizados os estímulos Ichirp-BL e Ichirp-FE, a variável sexo não apresentou diferença estatisticamente significativa para os valores de latência e amplitude.

Conclusão

a onda V do PEATE de neonatos sofre influência da variável sexo, quando utilizados os estímulos clique e tone burst. Entretanto, não houve tal influência quando utilizado o estímulo Ichirp banda larga–BL e o estímulo Ichirp frequência específica-FE.

Palavras-chave:
Potenciais evocados auditivos; Potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico; Audição; Neonato; Eletrofisiologia

INTRODUCTION

The audiological diagnosis in newborns must be conducted through objective and precise methods, including the physiological and electrophysiological hearing measures(11 Joint Committee On Infant Hearing. Year 2007 position statement: principles and guidelines for early hearing detection and intervention programs. Pediatrics. 2007;120(4):898-921. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-2333. PMid:17908777.
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,22 Lewis DR, Marone SAM, Mendes BCA, Cruz OLM, Nóbrega M. Multiprofessional committee on auditory health: COMUSA. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2010;76(1):121-2. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1808-86942010000100020. PMid:20339700.
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). The brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) – which is considered the gold standard assessment for the newborn population to estimate their auditory thresholds and diagnose the integrity of their auditory pathway to the brainstem – are included in these measures(33 Stapells DR. Threshold estimation by the tone evoked auditory brainstem response: a literature meta-anlysis. J Speech Lang Pathol Audiol. 2000;24(2):74-83.

4 Baldwin M, Watkin P. Predicting the degree of hearing loss using clique Auditory Brainstem Response in babies referred from newborn hearing screening. Ear Hear. 2013;34(3):361-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0b013e3182728b88. PMid:23340456.
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5 Griz SMS, Menezes PL. Potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico: paramêtros técnicos. In: Menezes PL, Andrade KCL, Frizzo ACF, Carnaúba ATL, Lins OG. Tratado de eletrofisiologia para a audiologia. Ribeirão Preto: Book Toy. 2018. p. 65-72.

6 Angrisani RG, Diniz EMA, Guinsburg R, Ferraro AA, Azevedo MF, Matas CG. Auditory pathway maturational study in small for gestational age preterm infants. CoDAS. 2014;26(4):286-93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/201420130078. PMid:25211687.
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7 Ramos N, Lewis DR. Air and bone conduction tone burst auditory brainstem response in normal hearing neonates. Rev CEFAC. 2014;16(3):757-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0216201419812.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-021620141...

8 Rodrigues GRI, Ramos N, Lewis DR. Comparing auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) to toneburst and narrow band CE-Chirp® in young infants. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2013;77(9):1555-60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2013.07.003. PMid:23915488.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2013....

9 Stuart A, Cobb KM. Effect of stimulus and number of sweeps on the neonate auditory brainstem response. Ear Hear. 2014;35(5):585-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000000066. PMid:25072239.
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-1010 Zirn S, Louza J, Reiman V, Wittlinger N, Hempel JM, Schuster M. Comparison between ABR with clique and narrow band chirp stimuli in children. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;78(8):1352-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.05.028. PMid:24882456.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014....
).

Picking up and recording BAEP responses can be done with different acoustic stimuli(33 Stapells DR. Threshold estimation by the tone evoked auditory brainstem response: a literature meta-anlysis. J Speech Lang Pathol Audiol. 2000;24(2):74-83.,55 Griz SMS, Menezes PL. Potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico: paramêtros técnicos. In: Menezes PL, Andrade KCL, Frizzo ACF, Carnaúba ATL, Lins OG. Tratado de eletrofisiologia para a audiologia. Ribeirão Preto: Book Toy. 2018. p. 65-72.), which include the click, broadband Ichirp, tone-burst, and specific-frequency Ichirp stimuli. The click stimulus is currently the most used in clinical practice, especially in analyzing the integrity of the auditory pathway to the brainstem. Concerning the assessment of the electrophysiological threshold, this is not the ideal stimulus to use, since with the click the sound wave runs through a large cochlear region and takes a considerable time to reach the base of the cochlea(33 Stapells DR. Threshold estimation by the tone evoked auditory brainstem response: a literature meta-anlysis. J Speech Lang Pathol Audiol. 2000;24(2):74-83.). As a larger region of the cochlea is stimulated, the click leads to non-specified frequencies – their specificity, though, is very important in the search for thresholds in newborns and small children, who do not yet respond to a behavioral audiological assessment(33 Stapells DR. Threshold estimation by the tone evoked auditory brainstem response: a literature meta-anlysis. J Speech Lang Pathol Audiol. 2000;24(2):74-83.,1111 Almeida MG, Sena-Yoshinaga TA, Côrtes-Andrade IF, Sousa MNC, Lewis DR. Automated auditory brainstem responses with CE-Chirp® at different intensity levels. Audiol Commun Res. 2014;19(2):117-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2317-64312014000200004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2317-64312014...
).

The stimulus used in clinical practice to estimate auditory thresholds is the tone-burst (TB), which enables specific-frequency (SF) bands of the cochlea to be stimulated, thus making it possible to determine more precisely the individual’s audiometric configuration(1212 Gorga MP, Reiland JK, Beauchaine KA, Worthington DW, Jesteadt W. Auditory brainstem responses from graduates of an intensive care nursery: normal patterns of response. J Speech Hear Res. 1987;30(3):311-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/jshr.3003.311. PMid:3669638.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/jshr.3003.311...
,1313 Matas CG, Magliaro FCL. Introdução aos potenciais evocados auditivos e potenciais evocados auditivos de tronco encefálico. In: Bevilacqua MC, Martinez MAN, Balen SA, Pupo AC, Reis ACMB, Frota S. Tratado de audiologia. São Paulo: Livraria Santos Editora Ltda; 2011. p. 181-95).

Moreover, regarding the different stimuli used when conducting the BAEP, the chirp has been arousing the scientific community’s interest(1414 Cebulla M, Lurz H, Shehata-Dieler W. Evaluation of waveform, latency and amplitude values of chirp ABR in newborns. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;78(4):631-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.01.020. PMid:24529909.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014....

15 Hall JW. Update o auditory evoked responses: value of chirp stimuli in ABR/ASSR measurement. Audiology Online. 2016:17434.
-1616 Rosa BCS, Cesar CP, Cabral A, Santos M, Santos R. Auditory evoked brain stem potential with cliquestimuli and Ichirp. Distúrb Comun. 2018;30(1):52-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.23925/2176-2724.2018v30i1p52-59.
http://dx.doi.org/10.23925/2176-2724.201...
). It is known that the use of this stimulus makes better neural synchrony possible, as it simultaneously stimulates the whole cochlea, enabling greater synchrony when compared with the other stimuli(1717 Dau T, Wegner O, Mellert V, Kollmeier B. Auditory brainstem responses with optimized chirp signals compensating basilar-membrane dispersion. J Acoust Soc Am. 2000;107(3):1530-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.428438. PMid:10738807.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.428438...
). Due to its physical characteristics, the electrophysiological waves produced with the chirp stimulus reach greater amplitudes and better morphologies in the V-wave(1111 Almeida MG, Sena-Yoshinaga TA, Côrtes-Andrade IF, Sousa MNC, Lewis DR. Automated auditory brainstem responses with CE-Chirp® at different intensity levels. Audiol Commun Res. 2014;19(2):117-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2317-64312014000200004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2317-64312014...
,1414 Cebulla M, Lurz H, Shehata-Dieler W. Evaluation of waveform, latency and amplitude values of chirp ABR in newborns. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;78(4):631-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.01.020. PMid:24529909.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014....

15 Hall JW. Update o auditory evoked responses: value of chirp stimuli in ABR/ASSR measurement. Audiology Online. 2016:17434.
-1616 Rosa BCS, Cesar CP, Cabral A, Santos M, Santos R. Auditory evoked brain stem potential with cliquestimuli and Ichirp. Distúrb Comun. 2018;30(1):52-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.23925/2176-2724.2018v30i1p52-59.
http://dx.doi.org/10.23925/2176-2724.201...
). Other authors have verified the difference between the chirps and the click precisely in triggering the stimulation(1414 Cebulla M, Lurz H, Shehata-Dieler W. Evaluation of waveform, latency and amplitude values of chirp ABR in newborns. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;78(4):631-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.01.020. PMid:24529909.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014....
,1717 Dau T, Wegner O, Mellert V, Kollmeier B. Auditory brainstem responses with optimized chirp signals compensating basilar-membrane dispersion. J Acoust Soc Am. 2000;107(3):1530-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.428438. PMid:10738807.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.428438...
).

It should be noted that various chirp stimuli were tested and proposed by different researchers and companies that produce the equipment to record and analyze the evoked potentials. Such stimuli can have different physical characteristics depending on the maker, and in the literature consulted different names were found for the different chirps, as, for instance, M-chirp(1818 Fobel O, Dau T. Searching for the optimal stimulus eliciting auditory brainstem responses in humans. J Acoust Soc Am. 2004;116(4 Pt 1):2213-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.1787523. PMid:15532653.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.1787523...
), CE-chirp® and NB CE-chirp®(1919 Elberling C, Don M, Cebulla M, Stürzebecher E. Auditory steady-state responses to chirp stimuli based on cochlear traveling wave delay. J Acoust Soc Am. 2007;122(5):2772-85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.2783985. PMid:18189568.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.2783985...
), LS-chirp(2020 Elberling C, Don M. A direct approach for the design stimuli used for the recording of auditory brainstem response. J Acoust Soc Am. 2010;128(5):2955-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3489111. PMid:21110591.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3489111...
), M-chirp and A-chirp(2121 Petoe MA, Bradley AP, Wilson WJ. Spectral and synchrony differences in auditory brainstem responses evoked by chirps of varying durations. J Acoust Soc Am. 2010;128(4):1896-907. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3483738. PMid:20968361.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3483738...
), and Ichirp(2222 Keesling DA, Parker JP, Sanchez JT. A Comparison of Commercially Available Auditory Brainstem Response Stimuli at a Neurodiagnostic Intensity Level. Audiol Res. 2017;7(1):161. http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/audiores.2017.161. PMid:28286636.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/audiores.2017....
). The Ichirp stimulus was developed by the Intelligent Hearing Systems® (IHS) team, one of the main manufacturers of audiological diagnosis equipment. It is believed that all different chirp stimuli behave similarly when stimulating the cochlea.

The Ichirp stimulus can be used as either broadband (BB) or specific frequency (SF). The difference between them is in how the frequencies are surveyed, as the broadband stimulates a larger area of the cochlea(1010 Zirn S, Louza J, Reiman V, Wittlinger N, Hempel JM, Schuster M. Comparison between ABR with clique and narrow band chirp stimuli in children. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;78(8):1352-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.05.028. PMid:24882456.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014....
,1616 Rosa BCS, Cesar CP, Cabral A, Santos M, Santos R. Auditory evoked brain stem potential with cliquestimuli and Ichirp. Distúrb Comun. 2018;30(1):52-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.23925/2176-2724.2018v30i1p52-59.
http://dx.doi.org/10.23925/2176-2724.201...
), whereas the specific frequency individually stimulates, for example, regions related to the 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz frequencies(77 Ramos N, Lewis DR. Air and bone conduction tone burst auditory brainstem response in normal hearing neonates. Rev CEFAC. 2014;16(3):757-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0216201419812.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-021620141...
,2020 Elberling C, Don M. A direct approach for the design stimuli used for the recording of auditory brainstem response. J Acoust Soc Am. 2010;128(5):2955-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3489111. PMid:21110591.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3489111...
).

In the literature consulted, the findings of the BAEP in newborns were conflicting, when the V-wave latency values were compared between the genders. While some scholars(2121 Petoe MA, Bradley AP, Wilson WJ. Spectral and synchrony differences in auditory brainstem responses evoked by chirps of varying durations. J Acoust Soc Am. 2010;128(4):1896-907. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3483738. PMid:20968361.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3483738...
,2323 Angrisani RMG, Bautzer APD, Matas CG, Azevedo MF. Auditory brainstem response in neonates: influence of sex and weight/gestational age ratio. Rev Paul Pediatr. 2013;31(4):494-500. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-05822013000400012. PMid:24473955.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-05822013...

24 Cavalcante JMS, Isaac ML. Registro dos potenciais evocados auditivos de tronco encefálico por estímulos clique e tone burst em recém-nascidos a termo e pré-termo (2010) [tese]. Ribeirão Preto: Universidade de São Paulo; 2010.

25 Li M, Zhu L, Mai X, Shao J, Lozoff B, Zhao Z. Sex and gestational age effects on auditory brainstem responses in preterm and term infants. Early Hum Dev. 2013;89(1):43-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2012.07.012. PMid:22849808.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2...
-2626 Sininger YS, Cone-Wesson B, Abdala C. Sex distinctions and lateral asymmetry in the low- level auditory brainstem response of the human neonate. Hear Res. 1998;126(1-2):58-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-5955(98)00152-X. PMid:9872134.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-5955(98)...
) concluded that there are differences between the genders when using the CE-chirp, A-chirp, tone-burst and click stimuli, other stimuli did not present such differences(1010 Zirn S, Louza J, Reiman V, Wittlinger N, Hempel JM, Schuster M. Comparison between ABR with clique and narrow band chirp stimuli in children. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;78(8):1352-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.05.028. PMid:24882456.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014....
,1111 Almeida MG, Sena-Yoshinaga TA, Côrtes-Andrade IF, Sousa MNC, Lewis DR. Automated auditory brainstem responses with CE-Chirp® at different intensity levels. Audiol Commun Res. 2014;19(2):117-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2317-64312014000200004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2317-64312014...
,1414 Cebulla M, Lurz H, Shehata-Dieler W. Evaluation of waveform, latency and amplitude values of chirp ABR in newborns. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;78(4):631-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.01.020. PMid:24529909.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014....
,2727 Lee CY, Hsieh TH, Pan SL, Hsu CJ. Thresholds of tone burst auditory brainstem responses for infants and young children with normal hearing in Taiwan. J Formos Med Assoc. 2007;106(10):847-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0929-6646(08)60050-9. PMid:17964964.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0929-6646(08)...
,2828 Cobb KM, Stuart A. Neonate Auditory Brainstem Responses to CE-Chirp and CE-Chirp Octave Band Stimuli II: Versus Adults Auditory Brainstem Responses. Ear Hear. 2016;37(6):724-43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000000344. PMid:27556524.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000...
). The researchers who observed a difference between the genders found increased latencies for the males(2323 Angrisani RMG, Bautzer APD, Matas CG, Azevedo MF. Auditory brainstem response in neonates: influence of sex and weight/gestational age ratio. Rev Paul Pediatr. 2013;31(4):494-500. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-05822013000400012. PMid:24473955.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-05822013...
,2525 Li M, Zhu L, Mai X, Shao J, Lozoff B, Zhao Z. Sex and gestational age effects on auditory brainstem responses in preterm and term infants. Early Hum Dev. 2013;89(1):43-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2012.07.012. PMid:22849808.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2...
) and attributed this finding to the anatomical differences there are between the genders.

Due to the conflicting BAEP results regarding differences between the genders, an interest in studying the influence of gender with different stimuli arose.

The hypothesis in this research was that the difference in the maturation of the auditory pathway, as well as the anatomical differences observed by some authors when comparing the genders, can influence the BAEP electrophysiological responses. Hence, studying gender when recording the BAEP with different stimuli contributes to clinical practice, as it identifies the stimuli that present the least influence of the variable. Thus, this study sought to assist in the clinical reliability of the BAEP. It should also be highlighted that in the literature consulted no studies with such an Ichirp-related analysis were found, which reinforces the importance of this research.

Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the influence of gender on the BAEP V-wave absolute latency and amplitude values with different stimuli in full-term newborn children.

METHODS

This is an observational descriptive quantitative cross-sectional study, approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee – HREC – UFSM, under number 23081.032787/2017-78; it also fully complied with Resolution no. 466/12, which refers to research carried out with humans. Those responsible for the newborns were previously informed about the purpose and procedures involved in this study, to which all agreed, signing the Informed Consent Form (ICF).

The following inclusion criteria were defined to compose the sample: male and female 1- to 29-day-old newborns whose response passed in the neonatal auditory screening (NAS), indicating that transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) were present in both ears, with no risk factors for infant hearing loss. Furthermore, the newborns needed to be in proper conditions (fed and naturally sleeping) when the procedure proposed in this study was conducted. The newborns that did not conclude the procedure because of the parents’ unquietness and/or physical tiredness were excluded from the sample.

Thus, 62 full-term newborns – 29 females and 33 males – participated in this study.

The data was collected through BAEP, using the Smart-EP module equipment made by Intelligent Hearing Systems®. In picking up this potential, the click, broadband Ichirp, tone-burst, and specific-frequency Ichirp stimuli were used. To keep the newborns from growing tired and samples from being lost, the methodological strategy used was to choose subjects randomly to record BAEP with the different stimuli. This way, the sample was randomized by type of stimulus. Hence, of the 62 newborns included in the sample, 30 (11 females and 19 males) performed BAEP with the click and broadband Ichirp stimuli, while 32 newborns (18 females and 14 males) performed BAEP with the tone-burst and specific-frequency stimuli.

For BAEP recording, the newborns were comfortably accommodated on the parent’s/guardian’s lap, naturally sleeping throughout the procedure. At first, the skin was sanitized with NuPrep® paste, and then the electrodes were fixed – the reference ones placed on the right (M2) and left mastoid (M1), and the active (Fz) and ground (Fpz) electrodes on the forehead. The recording started only after the impedance of the electrodes was under 3 kΩ.

The parameters used for all the stimuli were 2,048 stimuli in rarefied polarity, at a presentation rate of 27.7 stimuli per second, a band-pass filter of 100 to 3000 Hz. Windows of 24 milliseconds (ms) were used for the click, broadband Ichirp, specific-frequency Ichirp, and tone-burst stimuli. The stimulation was monaurally presented through ER-3A insert earphones in the intensities of 60, 40 and 20 dB HL. Each recording was repeatedly used to trace the V-wave in the stimuli researched, to ensure the repeatability and trustworthiness of the waves. During BAEP recording, the artifact rate of up to 10% of the total stimuli presented was accepted.

All the stimuli started in the intensity of 60 dB HL and were then presented in 40 and 20 dB HL. The ears were randomly chosen. BAEP recording with the tone-burst and SF-Ichirp stimuli was researched in two frequencies; in some newborns, the frequencies researched were 500 and 2000 Hz, while in others, 1000 and 4000 Hz. The option for the two-frequency research meant to avoid fatiguing the newborn. It should be noted that the procedure was conducted in one single appointment, and all the newborns were naturally sleeping, without the use of any sort of sedation.

To ensure trustworthy responses, all the BAEP recordings were independently analyzed by three judges, two of whom were speech-language-hearing pathologists and one, an otorhinolaryngologist. These judges received a copy of the tracings without the due markings and inserted the visual identification of the V-wave, considering their theoretical and practical experience in electrophysiology of hearing. This tracing analysis was blindly conducted. The third judge was only called when the judges who had analyzed the tracings disagreed. It should be highlighted that the third judge’s intervention was necessary for only two tracings.

As the V-wave identification criterion for latency measures, the judges considered the positive peak preceding the greatest negative deflection. In its turn, the amplitude measure was obtained through the difference between the V-wave positive and negative peaks.

To analyze the comparison of the BAEP V-wave absolute latency and amplitude values between the genders, the results obtained were inserted in a spreadsheet editor. The statistical analyses started with the Shapiro-Wilk test, used to determine the data distribution (either normal or not) for each stimulus. The normal data distribution of all stimuli studied was verified. The Student’s t-test was used for the comparison analysis.

The research considered the significance level of 5% in the statistical analyses. Throughout the study, the confidence intervals were developed with 95% statistical confidence.

RESULTS

Before analyzing gender, the ears assessed were compared. No statistically significant differences were observed between the ears for the click (p = 0.853), broadband Ichirp (p = 0.756), specific-frequency Ichirp (p = 0.875), and tone-burst stimuli (p = 0.768). Such analysis enabled, then, the gender analysis to be conducted considering the mean between the ears.

When comparing the BAEP V-wave absolute latency with the click stimuli, values numerically smaller for females were observed, with statistically significant differences in the intensities of 60 and 40 dBnHL. For the amplitude, there was a statistically significant difference in the intensity of 20 dBnHL, with greater amplitude noted for the females (Table 1).

Table 1
Analysis of latency in milliseconds (ms) and amplitude in microvolts (µV) of the V-wave in the brainstem auditory evoked potentials recorded with the click stimulus in different intensities, between males and females (n = 30)

As for the BAEP V-wave absolute latency and amplitude values with the presentation of broadband Ichirp stimulus, no statistically significant differences were found between the genders (Table 2).

Table 2
Analysis of latency in milliseconds (ms) and amplitude in microvolts (µV) of the V-wave in the brainstem auditory evoked potentials recorded with the broadband Ichirp stimulus in different intensities, between males and females (n = 30)

For the specific-frequency tone-burst stimulus, a statistically significant difference between the genders was observed. Such difference was verified for 4000 Hz frequency, in the intensities of 40 and 20 dBnHL for the latency values, and 60 and 40 dBnHL for the amplitude values. For the 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz frequencies, no differences were noted between the genders (Table 3).

Table 3
Analysis of latency in milliseconds (ms) and amplitude in microvolts (µV) of the V-wave in the brainstem auditory evoked potentials recorded with the specific-frequency tone-burst stimulus in different intensities, between males and females (n = 32)

In the analysis of the BAEP V-wave absolute latency values with the specific-frequency Ichirp stimulus, a statistically significant difference was verified between the genders only for the 1000 Hz frequency, in the intensity of 20 dBnHL, demonstrating higher mean values for females. In the analysis of the amplitude values, no statistically significant difference data were found (Table 4).

Table 4
Analysis of latency in milliseconds (ms) and amplitude in microvolts (µV) of the V-wave in the brainstem auditory evoked potentials recorded with the specific-frequency Ichirp stimulus in different intensities, between males and females (n = 32)

DISCUSSION

Through the results presented in this research, it was noted that the click and tone-burst stimuli were the ones with greater differences in the comparison analysis between the genders and that the broadband Ichirp was the stimulus that did not suffer influence for the analysis in question.

In BAEP recording with the click stimulus, a statistically significant difference was observed in the intensity of 60 and 40 dBnHL for the latency values, demonstrating lower mean values for females (Table 1). In the amplitude analysis, higher values were verified for females, with a statistically significant difference in 20 dBnHL. Such results agree with a study(2626 Sininger YS, Cone-Wesson B, Abdala C. Sex distinctions and lateral asymmetry in the low- level auditory brainstem response of the human neonate. Hear Res. 1998;126(1-2):58-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-5955(98)00152-X. PMid:9872134.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-5955(98)...
) in which the authors also found shorter V-wave latency values in 72 full-term female newborns, with the click stimulus. However, such a difference was not statistically significant. One justification for that result is in researchers’(2929 Sato H, Sando I, Takahashi H. Sexual dimorphism and development of the human cochlea Computer 3-D measurement. Acta Otolaryngol. 1991;111(6):1037-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00016489109100753. PMid:1763623.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00016489109100...
) reporting a shorter sound wave traveling time in the basilar membrane of females, which would mean a shorter time to generate a response in the brainstem; consequently, there would be a shorter wave latency, as well as a greater amplitude, as they generate more neural activity per unit of time. These data are attributed to the anatomical differences there are between the genders – e.g., the size of the cochlea and the diameter of the auditory nerve(3030 Soares IA, Menezes PL, Pereira LD. Testes de desempenho: a importância do padrão de normalidade para equipamentos de avaliação eletrofisiológica de recepção de sons. In: Menezes PL, Andrade KCL, Frizzo ACF, Carnaúba ATL, Lins OG. Tratado de eletrofisiologia para a audiologia. Ribeirão Preto: Book Toy; 2018. p. 31-7.). In addition to the anatomical differences, a study observed that the females can present better hearing in high frequencies(55 Griz SMS, Menezes PL. Potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico: paramêtros técnicos. In: Menezes PL, Andrade KCL, Frizzo ACF, Carnaúba ATL, Lins OG. Tratado de eletrofisiologia para a audiologia. Ribeirão Preto: Book Toy. 2018. p. 65-72.), which would reflect in lower latencies, particularly for the click stimulus, due to the frequency range assessed. Another factor that could interfere with the responses in this potential is the female’s higher mean body temperature(55 Griz SMS, Menezes PL. Potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico: paramêtros técnicos. In: Menezes PL, Andrade KCL, Frizzo ACF, Carnaúba ATL, Lins OG. Tratado de eletrofisiologia para a audiologia. Ribeirão Preto: Book Toy. 2018. p. 65-72.). Regarding the higher amplitude values, a study associated this result with the influence of hormone and neurotransmitter variations(55 Griz SMS, Menezes PL. Potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico: paramêtros técnicos. In: Menezes PL, Andrade KCL, Frizzo ACF, Carnaúba ATL, Lins OG. Tratado de eletrofisiologia para a audiologia. Ribeirão Preto: Book Toy. 2018. p. 65-72.).

On the other hand, for the broadband Ichirp stimulus, this difference was not statistically significant (Table 2). Thus, it is understood that this stimulus presents relevant clinical applicability, given that, for the audiological diagnosis in children, stimuli are sought that are not influenced by gender. Attention is called to the fact that no studies were found in the literature consulted that had performed such comparison, using the Ichirp stimulus. However, neither did the researchers find any difference between genders when using chirp-class stimuli – e.g., A-chirp(2121 Petoe MA, Bradley AP, Wilson WJ. Spectral and synchrony differences in auditory brainstem responses evoked by chirps of varying durations. J Acoust Soc Am. 2010;128(4):1896-907. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3483738. PMid:20968361.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3483738...
) and CE-chirp(1010 Zirn S, Louza J, Reiman V, Wittlinger N, Hempel JM, Schuster M. Comparison between ABR with clique and narrow band chirp stimuli in children. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;78(8):1352-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.05.028. PMid:24882456.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014....
). It should be emphasized that the chirp stimulus’ characteristics are different from those of other stimuli, as it is projected to stimulate the cochlea simultaneously, enabling greater neural synchrony to take place and thus generate more reliable responses, when compared with the other stimuli(1717 Dau T, Wegner O, Mellert V, Kollmeier B. Auditory brainstem responses with optimized chirp signals compensating basilar-membrane dispersion. J Acoust Soc Am. 2000;107(3):1530-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.428438. PMid:10738807.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.428438...
). Therefore, it is less likely to be influenced by anatomical aspects found between the genders. Furthermore, studies that analyzed and compared BAEP responses with the chirp and click stimuli in newborns had promising results with the chirp, as they observed that the V-wave was better identified in the BAEP recordings when using a chirp-class stimulus in newborns(1111 Almeida MG, Sena-Yoshinaga TA, Côrtes-Andrade IF, Sousa MNC, Lewis DR. Automated auditory brainstem responses with CE-Chirp® at different intensity levels. Audiol Commun Res. 2014;19(2):117-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2317-64312014000200004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2317-64312014...
,1414 Cebulla M, Lurz H, Shehata-Dieler W. Evaluation of waveform, latency and amplitude values of chirp ABR in newborns. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;78(4):631-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.01.020. PMid:24529909.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2014....
).

In the analysis of the tone-burst stimulus (Table 3), statistically significant latency difference was obtained for 4000 Hz frequency, in the intensities of 40 and 20 dBnHL. For the amplitude, a difference was verified for 4000 Hz frequency in the intensities of 60 and 40 dBnHL, with higher values for females. Other researchers(2727 Lee CY, Hsieh TH, Pan SL, Hsu CJ. Thresholds of tone burst auditory brainstem responses for infants and young children with normal hearing in Taiwan. J Formos Med Assoc. 2007;106(10):847-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0929-6646(08)60050-9. PMid:17964964.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0929-6646(08)...
) reported that they did not find a statistically significant difference between genders with the tone-burst stimulus. However, the study that did observe a difference between the genders(2424 Cavalcante JMS, Isaac ML. Registro dos potenciais evocados auditivos de tronco encefálico por estímulos clique e tone burst em recém-nascidos a termo e pré-termo (2010) [tese]. Ribeirão Preto: Universidade de São Paulo; 2010.) stated that such a difference was at random.

In this study, when analyzing the specific-frequency Ichirp stimulus data (Table 4), 12 statistical analyses were conducted, in which a statistically significant latency difference was found in one single frequency and intensity (20 dBnHL in 1000 Hz). Thus, it is inferred that this difference does not have clinical relevance either, so there is no need to report in the literature gender-related reference values. Neither were there any relevant differences between genders found in another study(2828 Cobb KM, Stuart A. Neonate Auditory Brainstem Responses to CE-Chirp and CE-Chirp Octave Band Stimuli II: Versus Adults Auditory Brainstem Responses. Ear Hear. 2016;37(6):724-43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000000344. PMid:27556524.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000...
) with the SF CE-chirp stimulus when comparing the V-wave responses of 168 newborns.

Since the specific-frequency Ichirp stimulus presented statistical difference in only one frequency and intensity, when the BAEP recorded values for both males and females were compared, this study highlights that this is the stimulus indicated to investigate electrophysiological threshold in the newborn population. Moreover, the classic literature(1717 Dau T, Wegner O, Mellert V, Kollmeier B. Auditory brainstem responses with optimized chirp signals compensating basilar-membrane dispersion. J Acoust Soc Am. 2000;107(3):1530-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.428438. PMid:10738807.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.428438...
,1919 Elberling C, Don M, Cebulla M, Stürzebecher E. Auditory steady-state responses to chirp stimuli based on cochlear traveling wave delay. J Acoust Soc Am. 2007;122(5):2772-85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.2783985. PMid:18189568.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.2783985...
) points out that the chirp stimulus presents greater amplitudes, as the hair cells depolarize more synchronically, which enables more nerve fibers to be simultaneously activated. These researchers highlighted that, with the use of the chirp stimulus, when the level of stimulation decreases, the response amplitude remains stable.

CONCLUSION

The BAEP V-wave in newborns is influenced by gender when the click and tone-burst stimuli are used. However, such influence did not occur when the broadband (BB) Ichirp and specific-frequency Ichirp stimuli were used.

  • Study carried out at Departamento de Fonoaudiologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria – UFSM – Santa Maria (RS), Brasil.
  • Funding: None.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    01 June 2020
  • Date of issue
    2020

History

  • Received
    22 Feb 2019
  • Accepted
    31 Jan 2020
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