BACKGROUND: The evoked auditory evoked response (ABR) evoked by complex sounds is called complex ABR (cABR). However, restrictions on a coustic stimuli are common for a commercial system. Here a device, SimulABR-SO, designed to continuously monitor electric stimuli from a presumed system and output acoustic stimuli independently with an ignorable delay was introduced. The cABRs were compared with those acquired from a conventional system to verify the validity of the
design.
METHODS: cABRs evoked by compound click-sawtooth wave (CSW) were acquired from ten healthy volunteers as the control group, and the responses from another ten healthy participants using the device were obtained as the test group. The stimulation intensity of acoustic stimuli was 40 dB above the sensation level.
RESULTS: The response rate was 100% for both systems and there were no significan differences in response latencies and amplitudes between the two systems ( p > 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). An example of cABR response using dichotic stimulation also supported the validity of the system.
CONCLUSIONS: The device could couple with a cABR system but independently output desired acoustic stimulations that are uploaded using software. The responses can be analyzed using the host commercial system without changing user experience of the examiner. The device provides an alternative and even more options such as a dichotic stimulation to acquire cABR without restriction of an existing cABR system. (J Taiwan Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2022; 57:194-202)
