BEHAVIOURAL OBSERVATION AUDIOMETRY A …

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Created 26/11/01Last modified 13/08 Page 1 of 4NEONATAL hearing screening AND ASSESSMENTBEHAVIOURAL OBSERVATION AUDIOMETRYA RECOMMENDED TEST PROTOCOLEditor: Tim WilliamsonBACKGROUNDBehavioural OBSERVATION AUDIOMETRY (BOA) involves presenting sounds to a babyand observing their responses. In the context of this paper, it is restricted to theresponses before the developmental age at which babies can localise sound to theside. Nor does it include the multiple measures of BEHAVIOURAL responses, which areused for automated screening variety of types of stimuli, responses, and test protocols have been employed(Wharrad 1988). The BEHAVIOURAL responses have ranged from internal autonomic( heart rate) to body movements ( the face and eyes), from excitatory orreflexive to inhibitory or attentive. BOA is known to be a test of limited reliability: some babies will appear to respondeven though they may not have heard, and others will have heard but notdemonstrated any observable response.

Created 26/11/01 Last modified 13/08/02 www.nhsp.info/workbook.shtml Page 1 of 4 NEONATAL HEARING SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT BEHAVIOURAL OBSERVATION AUDIOMETRY

  Screening, Observation, Hearing, Behavioural, Hearing screening, Behavioural observation audiometry a, Audiometry