Técnicas diagnósticas más utilizadas para la identificación temprana de las pérdidas auditivas

Hearing impairment in early infancy has been linked with lifelong deficits in speech and language acquisition, personal-social maladjustments, and emotional difficulties. Early identification of hearing loss and appropriate intervention within the first 6 months of life has been demonstrated to prevent many of these adverse consequences. There are several available techniques which can reliably identify hearing impairments. The most frequently used are behavioral techniques, otoacoustic emissions, click auditory brainstem response and automated auditory brainstem response. Numerous groups of investigators worldwide work arduously in the search of an ideal diagnostic test. Recently, the multiple auditory steady state responses have been proposed as a new tool in the identification of hearing losses. Also, there are some initial studies focused on developing the technique for hearing screening protocol. The main advantages and disadvantages of each one of these techniques are described. The main results of test performance in terms of sensibility and specificity in a hearing screening context are discussed.