Audiological Comparison of Cochlear & Eighth Nerve Disorders

Abstract

Four new approaches to the diagnostic problem of differentiating cochlear and retrocochlear disorders are described. The four procedures are: 1) the forward-backward discrepancy in the Békésy audiogram; 2) the Békésy Comfortable Loudness (BCL) test; 3) the rollover of the performance-intensity function for PB words; and 4) the acoustic reflex. Findings on these new auditory test procedures were contrasted in three groups of patients having either confirmed cochlear, VIII nerve or brain stem disorders. Results suggest that suprathreshold levels are a more fruitful area in which to explore VIII nerve symptomatology than threshold levels.