Comparison of air- and bone-conducted brain stem auditory evoked responses in young dogs and dogs with bilateral ear canal obstruction

Brain stem responses to air- and bone-conducted stimuli were analyzed in 11 young dogs, using an in-the ear transducer and a vibrator designed for human hearing tests, respectively. The mean thresholds were 0 to 10 dB for air-conducted stimuli and 50 to 60 dB for bone-conducted stimuli. The wave forms and inter-peak latencies of the waves of the auditory evoked responses elicited by air-conducted and bone-conducted stimuli were similar. The indicated that the signals had the same origin and thus both the air-conducted and the bone-conducted responses could be considered to be auditory responses. Measurement of air-conducted and bone-conducted brain stem- evoked responses in five dogs with bilateral chronic obstructive ear disease revealed thresholds of 50 to 60 dB for air-conducted stimuli and 60 to 70 dB for bone-conducted stimuli. By comparison of these results with those in the 11 young dogs, it could be concluded that there was hearing loss other than that caused by obstruction of the ear canals.