Three parameters of the acoustic reflex have been used in otoneurologic diagnosis: threshold (ART), decay (ARD), and latency (ARL). Each test is defined, put in historical perspective, and discussed in relation to diagnostic implications. We recommend that these three tests-ART, ARD, and ARL-be used as a group and describe how they are implemented in the audiologic diagnosis of acoustic tumors and other lesions affecting the auditory system in the cerebellopontine angle and brain stem.
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