System and method for objective evaluation of hearing using auditory steady-state responses

An apparatus for testing the hearing of a subject comprising:

• (a) a signal creator adapted to create a test signal with an exponential modulated component;
• (b) a transducer electrically coupled to the processor and adapted to transduce the test signal to create an acoustic stimulus and present the acoustic stimulus to the subject;
• (c) a sensor adapted to sense potentials from the subject while the acoustic stimulus is substantially simultaneously presented to the subject;
• and
• (d) a processor electrically coupled to the sensor and adapted to receive the potentials and analyze the potentials to determine if the potentials comprise data indicative of at least one response to the acoustic stimulus.

A method of analyzing potentials to determine whether the potentials comprise data indicative of the presence of at least one steady-state response to an acoustic stimulus, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

• (a) presenting an acoustic stimulus to a subject;
• (b) sensing potentials from the subject while substantially simultaneously presenting the acoustic stimulus to the subject to obtain a plurality of data points;
• (c) transforming the plurality of data points into a second plurality of data points;
• (d) biasing the second plurality of data points with an expected phase value to obtain a plurality of biased data points;
• and,
• (e) applying a statistical test to the plurality of biased data points to detect the response.

A method of analyzing electroencephalogram (EEG) data to determine whether the data are indicative of the presence of at least one steady-state response to a steady-state evoked potential (SSAEP) stimulus, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) presenting a SSAEP stimulus to a subject;
• (b) sensing EEG data from the subject while substantially simultaneously presenting the stimulus to the subject;
• (c) forming at least one sweep from the EEG data;
• (d) calculating a plurality of Fourier components for the sweep.
• (e) biasing the Fourier components with an expected phase value to obtain a plurality of biased components;
• and
• (f) applying a statistical test to the plurality of biased data points to detect the response.

A method of objectively testing the hearing of a subject, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

• (a) selecting an auditory test to be administered to the subject;
• (b) creating a test signal comprising at least one component for the auditory test;
• (c) transducing the test signal to create a stimulus
• (d) presenting the stimulus to the subject;
• (e) sensing a potential from the subject while substantially simultaneously presenting the stimulus to the subject;
• and,
• (f) analyzing the potential to detect a response.

An apparatus for objectively testing the hearing of a subject comprising:

• (a) a selector adapted for selecting an auditory test to perform on the subject;
• (b) a signal creator electrically coupled to the selector and adapted to create an appropriate test signal comprising at least one component for the test;
• (c) a transducer electrically coupled to the signal creator and adapted to transduce the test signal to create an acoustic stimulus and to present the acoustic stimulus to the subject;
• (d) a sensor adapted to sense potentials from the subject while the acoustic stimulus is substantially simultaneously presented to the subject;
• (e) a processor electrically coupled to the sensor and adapted to receive the potentials and analyze the potentials to determine if the potentials comprise data indicative of at least one response to the acoustic stimulus;
• and
• (f) an interface adapted to operably couple the processor to a programmable hearing aid, the programmable hearing aid having a plurality of programmable gain factors, the interface operable to communicate programming data from the processor to the programmable hearing aid based on at least one detected response to at least one component of the acoustic stimulus.

An iterative adaptive staircase method for automatically obtaining frequency specific threshold estimation for one or more acoustic stimuli presented to a subject comprising the steps of:

• (a) presenting to the subject at least one acoustic stimulus to evoke at least one steady-state response from the subject while simultaneously recording electroencephalograph (EEG) data from the subject;
• (b) statistically assessing the presence of at least one steady-state response in the EEG data;
• (c) repeating steps (a) and (b) until a recording criterion is reached;
• (d) decreasing the intensity of the at least one acoustic stimulus a specified amount;
• (e) repeating steps (a), (b), (c) and (d) for a specified range of intensities;
• and
• (f) generating summary results based upon the absence of a steady-state response at one or more intensities.

An iterative adaptive staircase method for obtaining frequency specific threshold estimation for two or more simultaneously presented stimuli comprising the steps of:

• (a) presenting at least two acoustic stimuli to a subject, each of which evoke a steady-state response in the subject;
• (b) recording electroencephalograph (EEG) data from the subject until a recording criterion is reached;
• (c) decreasing the intensity of each of the at least two acoustic stimuli a specified amount;
• (d) repeating steps (a), (b) and (c) until a stopping criteria is met;
• and
• (e) generating summary results based upon failure to detect a steady-state response at one or more intensities.

A method of testing the hearing of a subject, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) creating a periodic test signal, the period being sufficient to evoke responses having a degree of overlap;
• (b) transducing the test signal to create an acoustic stimulus;
• (c) presenting the acoustic stimulus to the subject;
• (d) sensing potentials from the subject while substantially simultaneously presenting the acoustic stimulus to the subject;
• and
• (e) analyzing the potentials to determine whether the potentials comprise data indicative of the presence of at least one steady-state response to the acoustic stimulus.

A method of testing the hearing of a subject, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) presenting at least one acoustic stimulus to the subject to evoke at least one steady-state response from the subject while simultaneously recording electroencephalograph (EEG) data from the subject;
• (b) statistically assessing whether at least one steady-state response was present in the EEG data;
• (c) repeating steps (a) and (b) until a recording criterion is reached;
• (d) repeating steps (a), (b), and (c) for a specified range of intensities;
• (e) determining the stimulus intensity to be above a specified level;
• (f) altering the testing procedure when the stimulus intensity exceeds the specified level;
• and
• (g) repeating steps (a)-(e) until the detection of at least one said response has occurred or until a recording criteria has been met.

A method of objectively testing the hearing of a subject, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

• (a) selecting an auditory test to be administered to the subject;
• (b) creating a test signal comprising at least two modulation signals having carrier frequencies separated by approximately one-half an octave;
• (c) transducing the test signal to create a stimulus
• (d) presenting the stimulus to the subject;
• (e) sensing a potential from the subject while substantially simultaneously presenting the stimulus to the subject;
• (f) analyzing the potential to detect a response;
• (g) decreasing the intensity of a modulation signal of the test signal that elicited a response that was detected;
• (h) iteratively repeating steps (c)-(g) for a specified period of time or until a specified noise floor has been achieved;
• and
• (i) determining a minimal stimulus intensity for which a response was detected for each stimulus based upon the response data.