Abstract Brainstem auditory evoked potential is a physiological technique for evaluation of auditory pathway. A number of electrical potentials can be recorded from the human scalp following acoustic stimulation. The potentials which occur within 10 msec of the stimulus onset termed the brain stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs). Latency appears to be the most stable measure and in consequence knowledge of the exact limits of normal latency of each wave is important. Since age and sex effects on central conduction time in the acoustic pathway are still debated, the following study was conducted to investigate possible age and sex differences in BAEP component latencies in younger and older male and females, total 60 of age 21-30yrs and 51-60 yrs respectively, The absolute peak latency of waves I, & V and interpeak latency of wave’s I-III, & I-V in younger and older age group male and females are analyzed. The data was statistically compared between the different age groups and between the males and females and regression analysis was done. Absolute latencies of the waves I, and V and the interpeak latency of the waves, I-III and I-V showed significant increase with age, thus suggesting degenerative changes in the auditory pathway and synaptic delay. There were significantly increased values of the latencies of the waves I, and V and interpeak latencies of the waves, I-III, I-V in males as compared to the females. Thus, age and sex have an effect on latency and interpeak latency in Brainstem auditory evoked potentials.
Keywords: Auditory Evoked Potential; Interpeak Latency; Age and Sex.