Is an auditory brainstem response test a usual thing to have done for hearing loss?
There are two basic types of hearing loss — conductive and sensorineural. Conductive hearing loss is caused by injury or disease of the ear canal, eardrum or ossicles (bones of hearing in the middle ear). Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by problems that affect the inner ear (cochlea), the auditory nerve or the brain pathways for hearing. An audiogram (hearing test) can usually determine whether the loss is conductive or sensorineural. If it is conductive, an examination of the ear will almost always identify the problem. If it is sensorineural the ear almost always looks normal. In order to identify why a person has a sensorineural loss, especially if it is one-sided, further testing is usually necessary. The path of the sound impulse travels from the cochlea, through the auditory nerve and brainstem, and eventually reaches the auditory cortex. The impulse goes through multiple nerves along the pathway. Auditory brainstem response is a test that tracks the sound impulse as it tra
