Interaural Attenuation Using Etymotic ER-3A Insert Earphones in Auditory Brain Stem Response Testing

Click interaural attenuation (IA) was measured behaviorally and with the auditory brain stem response (ABR) in two unilaterally deaf adults with Etymotic ER3A insert earphones, and TDH-39P and TDH-49P supraaural earphones. Stimulus crossover for each set of earphones was also determined with pure-tone audiometry. Pure-tone results agreed with previous research, showing that the ER-3A provided substantially greater IA than the supraaural earphones, particularly for low frequencies. For click stimuli, behavioral and ABR results revealed only modest, if any, improvement in IA with the ER-3A relative to the supraaural earphones. The results of this study suggest that while the ER3A earphones provide a clear IA advantage for behavioral pure-tone audiometry, they do not eliminate the need for contra-lateral masking of click stimuli in ABR testing.