Assessment of two central auditory tests in elderly patients without hearing complaints

Speech understanding disorders in the elderly may be due to peripheral or central auditory dysfunctions. Asymmetry of results in dichotic testing increases with age, and may reflect on a lack of inter-hemisphere transmission and cognitive decline. Aim: To investigate auditory processing of aged people with no hearing complaints. Study design: clinical prospective. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two voluntary individuals, aged between 55 and 75 years, were evaluated. They reported no hearing complaints and had maximal auditory thresholds of 40 dB HL until 4 KHz, 80% of minimal speech recognition scores and peripheral symmetry between the ears. We used two kinds of tests: speech in noise and dichotic alternated dissyllables (SSW). Results were compared between males and females, right and left ears and between age groups. Results: There were no significant differences between genders, in both tests. Their Left ears showed worse results, in the competitive condition of SSW. Individuals aged 65 or older had poorer performances than those aged 55 to 64. Conclusion: Central auditory tests showed worse performance with aging. The employment of a dichotic test in the auditory evaluation setting in the elderly may help in the early identification of degenerative processes, which are common among these patients.

Cherbourg revisited: hearing health changes in an Aboriginal community, 1972 to 2000

The aim of this study was to investigate current audiological outcomes of Cherbourg schoolchildren and compare these outcomes to those obtained in a 1972 study of hearing health in the same community. Seventy-eight primary school children of Cherbourg State School participated in the study. Their peripheral hearing and middle ear function were tested using pure-tone air conduction audiometry and tympanometry respectively. A significant improvement in the hearing status of this population was noted compared to that reported in 1972. The improvements in the hearing status of Indigenous schoolchildren at Cherbourg can be attributed to a number of factors, including increased awareness of both ear health and general health, as well as the introduction of hearing health care services, over the past three decades.

Surdités légères et surdités unilatérales chez l'enfant: quelle importance [Minimal or unilateral hearing loss in children: is it a problem?].

The word "minimal" or "mild" hearing loss seems to imply that their effects are mild or negligible. The literature supports that they can have a significant impact on educative end educational development of young children and contribute to problems in fields of social function, communication and educational achievement. Unilateral hearing loss in children has been considered for long to be of little consequence. In fact it causes problems in speech and language development, speech understanding, especially in noisy environments, and school results. Early diagnosis, follow-up during preschool and school ages are mandatory.

The comparison of vestibular functions in hearing and hearing impaired populations

This study investigates possible vestibular dysfunctions in the deaf using a typical clinical assessment battery and discerns whether there is a trend between these disorders in meningitic children as compared to children with unknown origins of deafness.

Chromosome imbalances in syndromic hearing loss

The cause of hearing impairment has not been elucidated in a large proportion of patients. We screened by 1-Mb array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) 29 individuals with syndromic hearing impairment whose clinical features were not typical of known disorders. Rare chromosomal copy number changes were detected in eight patients, four de novo imbalances and four inherited from a normal parent. The de novo alterations define candidate chromosome segments likely to harbor dosage-sensitive genes related to hearing impairment, namely 1q23.3-q25.2, 2q22q23, 6p25.3 and 11q13.2-q13.4. The rare imbalances also present in normal parents might be casually associated with hearing impairment, but its role as a predisposition gene remains a possibility. Our results show that syndromic deafness is frequently associated with chromosome microimbalances (14-27%), and the use of aCGH for defining disease etiology is recommended.

Interventions to promote the wearing of hearing protection

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

P300 in individuals with sensorineural hearing loss

INTRODUCTION: Behavioral and electrophysiological auditory evaluations contribute to the understanding of the auditory system and of the process of intervention. OBJECTIVE: To study P300 in subjects with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional prospective study. It included 29 individuals of both genders with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss without other type of disorders, aged 11 to 42 years; all were assessed by behavioral audiological evaluation and auditory evoked potentials. RESULTS: A recording of the P3 wave was obtained in 17 individuals, with a mean latency of 326.97 ms and mean amplitude of 3.76 V. There were significant differences in latency in relation to age and in amplitude according to degree of hearing loss. There was a statistically significant association of the P300 results with the degrees of hearing loss (p = 0.04), with the predominant auditory communication channels (p < 0.0001), and with time of hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS: P300 can be recorded in individuals with severe and profound congenital sensorineural hearing loss; it may contribute to the understanding of cortical development and is a good predictor of the early intervention outcome.