마이크로프로세서를 이용한 자동청력검사 시스템 개발

Abstract

Hearing loss is one of the most common birth defects among infants. Most of hearing-impaired children are not diagnosed until 1 to 3 years of age - which is too late for the critical period (6 month) for normal speech and language development. If a hearing impairment is identified and treated in its early stage, child's speech and language skills could be comparable to his or her normal-hearing peers. For these reasons, hearing screening at birth and throughout childhood is extremely important. ABR (Auditory brain-stem response) is nowadays one of the most reliable diagnostic tools in the early detection of hearing impairment. In this study, we have developed the system that automatically detects if there is hearing impairment or not for infants or children. For future studies, it will be developed as a portable system to be able to take a measurement not only in sound proof room but also in nursery for neonates.