Newborn auditory brainstem evoked responses (ABRs): longitudinal correlates in the first year.

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which auditory brainstem evoked responses (ABRs) measured in newborns may predict delayed or impaired development during the first year of life. 93 high- and low-risk infants with normal and abnormal newborn ABRs were evaluated at 3, 6, and 9 months of age. Newborns with abnormal ABRs were further grouped according to diagnoses of sensorineural hearing loss (N = 11) or neuromaturational delay (N = 16). Data collected included measures of mental, motor, neurological, auditory, and speech/language development. After adjusting for risk-group membership, infants with abnormal newborn ABRs were found to differ from those with normal ABRs on summary handicap ratings and on individual measures of functioning. Measures of motor development and communicative development were most strongly associated with abnormalities in the newborn ABR. Developmental outcome for the sensorineural group was the poorest, with the performance of the maturational delay group falling between the sensorineural and normal groups on most measures. The predictive accuracy of the newborn ABR was moderate for detecting sensorineural hearing impairment and low to moderate for detecting deviant neurobehavioral development. We conclude that abnormalities in the newborn ABR may indicate diffuse CNS dysfunction in addition to deficits specific to the auditory system.