Newborn hearing thresholds measured by both insert and earphone methods.

Auditory brainstem response (ABR) absolute thresholds were obtained from 31 ears of 28 newborns using both the insert and the earphone methods to deliver the stimuli. The two estimates on each ear were acquired in a single test session, and they differed by 10 dB or less in all cases. The results suggest that when the earphone is used, it rarely if ever collapses the ear canal to cause an artificial conductive hearing loss.