Behavioral Observation Audiometry (BOA) Flashcards
What is the goal of pediatric audiologic evaluations?
To determine whether the child has sufficient hearing (auditory brain access) to develop speech and language
The presence or absence of hearing loss
The degree and configuration of hearing loss
The integrity of the auditory system
What is the normal hearing threshold for peds?
15 dB HL
What is slight hearing loss in peds?
16-25 dB HL
What is mild hearing loss for peds?
26-40 dB HL
What are the most common test protocols for evaluating infants and young children?
Acoustic immittance testing
ABR
Auditory steady-state evoked potential
OAE
Behavioral testing
What indicates a comprehensive audiological evaluation?
Referral from newborn hearing screen
Presence of risk factors
Not startling to loud sounds
Parental concern about hearing or speech delays
What is the gold standard for hearing evaluation for infants and children?
Behavioral evaluation
Why do we need to do behavioral testing?
Enables parents to participate in the testing by allowing them to observe when the infant responds to sounds and when they do not
Allows for cross-check physiologic results with behavioral data by using a battery of tests to determine hearing sensitivity
Can be used to monitor performance with technology
What is procedure selection?
Choosing the right method based on the child’s cognitive and physical development is crucial for accurate test results
What are some things to keep in mind for testing peds?
Procedure selection
Influencing factors (response can be affected by development stage, condition during the test (hungry or tired), and the experience of the audiologist)
Soundfield testing (won’t provide ear specific information, but will provide information regarding whether or not hearing is sufficient to develop speech and language)
Response fatigue (tire quickly)
Importance of setup (vital to ensure assessments are reliable and precise)
What do we have to determine before we can perform behavioral testing?
The child’s cognitive age
Regardless of the child’s chronologic age
How is cognitive information regarding the child (to determine cognitive age) obtained?
Case history
Speech-language or psychoeducational evaluations
If a child has other developmental disabilities, cognitive levels will be harder to ascertain; results of specific developmental tests may be required
How can you estimate developmental age?
From development in other areas of life
Motor and cognitive milestones can provide information, which can help the audiologist plan testing
What are some important developmental milestones (movement) for children?
4 months: Holds head without support
6 months: Rolls front to back; reaches for objects
9 months: Sits up independently; responds to name
12 months: Waves, pulls to stand; walks with support
15 months: Takes independent steps; uses objects correctly
18 months: Walks independently; climbs, points to objects
2 years: Runs, kicks ball; identifies body parts
What audiometric procedure is based on unconditioned responses?
Behavioral observation audiometry (BOA)
What audiometric procedures are based on conditioned responses?
Visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA)
Conditioned play audiometry (CPA)
What is the age range for BOA tesitng?
Birth to 6 months of age
Can also be used for older children with developmental delays or other disorders such as cerebral palsy
How does BOA work?
Involves presenting sounds to a baby who is not actively involved in the task and observing the response (eye widening, change sucking rate, etc.)
What are the things that are being observed in BOA?
Eye widening, quieting, eye shifting, head orienting, arousal, limb movement, respiration changes
What was done for behavioral testing in infants in the 1940s?
Used percussion sounds and pitch pipes to elicit aural reflex responses (eye blinks)
What was done for behavioral testing in infants in 1956?
Infant screening began using pure tones to elicit a reflex (moro) response
What was done for behavioral testing in infants in 1963?
Some clinicians used the infant’s ability to turn toward the sound to assess hearing (between 2 to 4 months)
What is the main problem with the moro reflex response or changes in limb movement or respiration?
Behaviors are not elicited to threshold stimuli, but rather responses to suprathreshold stimuli
What are some advantages of using noisemakers for hearing tests?
Readily available
Simple and inexpensive,
Could be used in any setting (a sound room was not required)
It was believed that infants would respond more reliably to noisemakers than to pure tone stimuli
What are some limitations of using noisemakers for hearing tests?
Very broad frequency responses
Intensity is not easy to control
Can noisemakers fully assess infant hearing?
No, but it can provide some gross information about an infant’s ability to alert to sound and localize to the source