Brainstem and steady-state responses measure audibility but not hearing ability.

Evidence

There is therefore great interest in the clinical audiology community in the development of objective techniques to measure various hearing abilities that do not require behavioural responses from the patient and are able to determine fitting parameters for hearing aids and cochlear implants. While the use of cortical responses is in development (Billings et al. 2007 , 2011 ; Carter et al. 2010 ; Billings et al. 2012 ; Chang et al. 2012 ), transient brainstem responses and steady state responses (Luts et al. 2004 , 2006 ; Alaerts et al. 2010 ) are already used in clinical practice to objectively assess hearing thresholds in young children. However, while these measures provide an estimate of audibility with the prescribed hearing aid gain, they do not provide any indication of the expected hearing ability of the patient. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4159

The benefits of amplification are greatest when hearing interventions are made as early as possible. There is therefore great interest in the clinical audiology community in the development of objective techniques to measure various hearing abilities that do not require behavioural responses from the patient and are able to determine fitting parameters for hearing aids and cochlear implants. While the use of cortical responses is in development (Billings et al. 2007 , 2011 ; Carter et al. 2010 ; Billings et al. 2012 ; Chang et al. 2012 ), transient brainstem responses and steady state responses (Luts et al. 2004 , 2006 ; Alaerts et al. 2010 ) are already used in clinical practice to objectively assess hearing thresholds in young children. However, while these measures provide an estimate of audibility with the prescribed hearing aid gain, they do not provide any indication of the expected hearing ability of the patient. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4157

Categorization

• QUESTION: What objective measures could bridge the gap between audibility thresholds and actual speech-in-noise ability?
• DEFINE: Clarifies the distinction between audibility (threshold-based) and hearing ability (functional/cognitive) as separate constructs measured by different objective techniques.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4159; Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4157