Auditory brainstem responses in young adults with Down syndrome.

Auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave V detection levels, latency, and amplitude were studied in a group of 15 young adults with Down syndrome for whom behavioral measures of hearing sensitivity were also obtained. Comparisons were made to a group of nonretarded control subjects matched by age and sex. Auditory brainstem response detection levels were elevated, response amplitude was reduced, and latency-intensity functions were significantly steeper for the subjects with Down syndrome than for the control group. These findings were associated with a high frequency (8000 Hz) hearing loss prevalent in the otherwise normal-hearing experimental group.