Other Tests
Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)
The auditory brainstem response (ABR) test tells us how the inner ear, called the cochlea, and the brain pathways for hearing are working. You will be seated in a quiet, dark room with electrodes placed on your forehead and behind your ears. A foam insert will be placed in both ears and you will be asked to sit with your eyes closed as you listen to clicking and static sounds. An ABR test takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Electrocochleography (ECochG)
Similar to an ABR, an electrocochleography (ECochG) test tells us how the inner ear and auditory nerve are working. This test, however, is looking for ear disease that could cause dizziness. You will be seated in a quiet, dark room with electrodes placed on your forehead, behind your ears and inside your ear canal. A foam insert will be placed in your ear and you will be asked to sit with your eyes closed as you listen to a clicking sound. An ECOG test takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Cortical Evoked Response
A Cortical Evoked Response test is an objective hearing test that tells us how loud a sound needs to be in order to produce a signal in the auditory cortex (part of the brain that recognizes sound). This allows us to estimate your hearing thresholds.
You will be seated in a quiet room with electrodes placed behind your ears and on top of your head. A foam insert will be placed in both of your ears and you will hear a series of beeps at various loudness levels. We do not want you to fall asleep during this test so you will be asked to bring a book, or we will provide you with a magazine while the test is being completed. A cortical test takes approximately 1 hour to complete. We will also do a hearing assessment after the cortical test.