Transient Auditory Neuropathy in Infants: How to Conceptualize the Recovery of Auditory Brain Stem Response in the Context of Newborn Hearing Screening?

Newborn hearing screening programs are being introduced across the world. Depending on the protocol, these programs usually allow for the identification of neonates and young infants with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD). This article reviews the issues around auditory brain stem response (ABR) recovery in young infants, putting forward the suggestion that it is not necessarily always associated with normal physiological maturational changes. In some cases, it is related to pathological neuromaturational delay but also other factors. The author argues for conceptualizing ABR recovery as transient ANSD and firmly including it as part of the spectrum.