This study evaluated the test-retest reliability of Wave I amplitude and latency and examined sources of variability, including head size, cardiac, respiratory parameters and tester effects. Wave I amplitude, a proposed biomarker of cochlear synaptopathy, requires established reproducibility.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Clinicians using ABR Wave I amplitude as a biomarker for cochlear synaptopathy (hidden hearing loss) should factor in the reliability estimates from this study when interpreting test-retest variability; ear-canal recordings may differ meaningfully from mastoid recordings in reliability.
Wave I ABR amplitude is increasingly used as a research biomarker for hidden hearing loss (cochlear synaptopathy), and establishing its test-retest reliability is essential before it can be adopted as a reliable clinical or research outcome measure.
- 01Compared Wave I ABR reliability at ear-canal vs. mastoid electrode sites in healthy young adults.
- 02Both amplitude and latency test-retest metrics were evaluated.
- 03Published in International Journal of Audiology (2026).
- 04Findings have direct implications for use of Wave I as a cochlear synaptopathy biomarker.
- 05Reliability data needed before Wave I ABR can be standardized as a clinical measure.
Test-retest reliability of Wave I ABR differs between ear-canal and mastoid recording sites.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42879332
- DOI
- 10.1080/14992027.2026.2743351.
- Journal
- International Journal of Audiology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Healthy young adults with normal hearing
- Intervention
- Wave I ABR recording at ear-canal and mastoid electrode sites
- Comparator
- Ear-canal vs. mastoid recording site
Primary outcomes
Test-retest reliability of Wave I ABR amplitude; Test-retest reliability of Wave I ABR latency; Agreement between ear-canal and mastoid recording sites