COCHLEAR MICROPHONES ANSWERS EVALUATION AND INTERPRETATION IN THE DAILY CLINIC AND ITS SCOPE IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF THE DISORDER OF THE EUROPATHY SPECTRUM AUDITIVE (D.E.N.A) - PART ONE

Abstract

In the beginning, the recording of cochlear microphonics (CMs) was performed with experimental aims by exclusively carrying out electrocochleography tests (ECochG). The method requires puncturing the tympanic membrane to place the electrode in as close as possible to the generators. This method, together with the lack of relevant clinical implications, has consigned this type of study to the experimental scope and a few diagnostic centers with the resources requirements to perform.

Currently, the research of CMs is possible to be conducted due to technological advancements; using the same equipment for measuring Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA), but the clinical interest of this study among the pediatric population remained dormant until the auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) was identified.

This is the first of a two-article series aiming to describe the recording and reading of MC and its possibilities on the diagnosis of ANSD. In this article we will review the essential principles and concepts to employ this study in daily clinical practice.