An Analysis of The Parameters Used In Speech ABR Assessment Protocols

The aim of this study was to assess the parameters of choice, such as duration, intensity, rate, polarity, number of sweeps, window length, stimulated ear, fundamental frequency, first formant, and second formant, from previously published speech ABR studies. To identify candidate articles, five databases were assessed using the following keyword descriptors: speech ABR, ABR-speech, speech auditory brainstem response, auditory evoked potential to speech, speech-evoked brainstem response, and complex sounds. The search identified 1288 articles published between 2005 and 2015. After filtering the total number of papers according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 studies were selected. Analyzing the protocol details used in 21 studies suggested that there is no consensus to date on a speech-ABR protocol and that the parameters of analysis used are quite variable between studies. This inhibits the wider generalization and extrapolation of data across languages and studies.