[Objective methods of hearing assessment as a contribution to a scientifically sound expert opinion].

Objective hearing test procedures are of great importance in the expert opinion, as their results cannot be manipulated by the person being examined and they increase the correctness, accuracy, diagnostic depth, and forensic quality of an expert opinion. According to the systematic of the ascending processes of hearing, they are divided into tympanometry to examine sound conduction and peripheral neuronal processing in the acoustic reflex; otoacoustic emissions (OAE) to assess the outer hair cells in the inner ear; and the broad field of acoustic evoked potentials (AEPs), which can be used to examine various aspects of neuronal excitation processing from the spiral ganglion to the auditory center. Of all objective methods, AEPs are the most versatile because they can be used to estimate hearing thresholds in air and bone conduction, detect aspects of maturation and deprivation, and assess functional aspects of retrocochlear hearing disorders that can only be examined and detected in this way. Sufficient audiometric knowledge and strict quality assurance are absolute prerequisites for the use of all objective procedures.