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