EFFECT OF BAEP MONITORING ON HEARING PRESERVATION DURING ACOUSTIC NEUROMA RESECTION

We measured the effect of brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) monitoring on hearing preservation. in acoustic neuroma resection in 90 consecutive patients with monitoring compared with 90 historical controls matched for tumor size and preoperative hearing status. In small tumors (<2 cm), BAEP monitoring was associated with a higher rate of hearing preservation and a greater chance that the hearing preserved was clinically useful. Changes in the BAEP intraoperatively showed a good correlation with postoperative hearing status.