Audiology (Hearing)

Providing comprehensive services for hearing problems.

Brainstem Auditory Evoked Testing

When a person hears a sound, that sound information reaches the brain by way of electrical pulses that travel through the brainstem. In a healthy auditory system, these electrical pulses travel at a specific speed and energy level. Audiologists are able to measure the speed and intensity of these pulses to determine if there is hearing loss or a lesion that is upsetting the flow of the sound information through the brainstem. This measurement is called a brainstem-evoked response (BER).

Children 1 year old and older typically require a mild form of sedation prior to the test. All babies and young children must sleep throughout the test as any muscle movement may contaminate this sensi

To measure the electrical pulses, small monitoring electrodes are placed on the scalp. Earphones provide a clicking noise to the ear, and the response from the brainstem is measured time-locked to the clicks. The clicks may become louder or softer or faster or slower to see how the brain responds to these different stimulus parameters.

If your child is scheduled for a BER test, we ask that you try to make sure they are sleepy when they arrive at the appointment. This includes keeping them awake in the car ride to the Hospital. If you have any questions about this, please call us at 858-966-5838 or 858-495-7757 (TTY).