1. A method of performing an automatic and rapid auditory screening test on a patient, the method comprising: a. acoustically presenting at least one modulated noise stimulus at a specific intensity to at least one ear of the patient; b. recording response data related to the patient's response to the at least one stimulus; c. performing signal analysis on said response data to generate result data; d. evaluating the result data using at least one statistical technique to determine the presence of at least one auditory steady-state response; and, e. providing a pass/fail test result which indicates whether said patient has passed or failed said screening test.