Steady state visually evoked potential

Steady State Evoked Potentials (SSEP) is an objective hearing examination. SSEP is used to determine hearing threshold. It makes it possible to determine hearing residuals at deep frequencies in very severe perceptual hearing defects, which would not be detected during the stem potentials examination.

Execution
The examination takes about 30–60 minutes and is performed in children who are asleep or, exceptionally, under general anesthesia. Differently loud sounds (10–125 dB) with different frequencies (250 Hz to 8 kHz) are transmitted to the ears. Probes on the examinee's head record brain activity (thalamic response). The results of the examination are displayed in a graph, which represents the so-called estimated audiogram (this is what a tone audiogram would look like if it were possible to examine it in a child).

Related Articles

 * Hearing • Hearing examination • Audiometry (physiology) • Otoacoustic emissions • Stem evoked potentials
 * Classification of Hearing Impairments • Hearing Impairment