BAER stands for Brainstem Auditory Evoked Responses.

BAER are sound induced midbrain (electrical) waves which accurately reflect sensory cell and neuronal activity.

BAER can be used to measure hearing capacity at multiple frequencies and pure tones.

BAER related parameters are: hearing thresholds, which reflect the level of sound stimulus necessary to trigger a hearing response; peak and interpeak latencies, which reflect the time lag between sound stimulus and midbrain wave generation; and peak amplitudes, which reflect the level of brain stimulation triggered by a given sound.

To learn more about the techniques we employ to evoke and measure BAER, please refer to our comprehensive article on the subject.

OAE stands for Otoacustic Emission.

An OAE is a sound that is generated from within the inner ear and that can be measured in the ear canal. OAE can be spontaneous (physiological) as a result of the interaction between the tectorial membrane and the outer hair cells (OHCs) or evoked as a result of an external sound stimulus.

Common techniques to measure OAE are DPOAE (Distortion-product OAE) or TEOAE (Transient-evoked OAE).

OAE are clinically important because they can be used to assess the function of the OHCs which is directly related with the cochlear hearing capacity.

To learn more about the techniques we employ to induce and measure OAEs, please refer to our comprehensive article on the subject.

The inner ear is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear and consists of the cochlea and the vestibular system. In the cochlea resides the Organ of Corti, a very complex three-dimensional structure of highly specialized cells responsible for sound detection. The detailed microscopic evaluation of the Organ of Corti allows an adequate characterization of the ototoxic potential of any drug. These morphological assessments together with the hearing function evaluations (BAER & DPOAE) offer a complete picture of the pharmacodynamic effects of your candidate on the inner ear.