Near-threshold recordings of amplitude modulation following responses (AMFR) in children of different ages.

Amplitude modulation following responses (AMFR) to single near-threshold 40-Hz or 80-Hz amplitude-modulated tones of 1 kHz were recorded in 48 normal children between the ages of 2 months and 14 years. Children under the age of 2 years were tested during natural sleep, and older children were tested awake. The objectives of this study were to find out how the AMFR changes with age and to determine the most effective modulation frequency for objective threshold assessment at different ages. The optimal modulation frequency changed from higher to lower modulation frequencies at about 13 years. In younger children, the 80-Hz AMFR was larger than the 40-Hz AMFR. The 40-Hz response became similar to the adult response by the age of 14 years, while the 80-Hz response had an amplitude greater than half of an adult response by the age of 1 year, changed very little during the investigated period, and reached the amplitude of adult responses at the end of the investigated period.