Auditory agnosia in children after herpes encephalitis

Four pediatric patients whose bilateral auditory cortices were damaged by herpes encephalitis at an early age were studied. Their brain CT and MRI scans demonstrated common bilateral lesions of the auditory cortices. Their auditory perception was investigated by means of behavioral and objective hearing tests and auditory perception tests. All four patients showed mild or moderate hearing loss in the behavioral hearing test and normal auditory brainstem responses but did not manifest total deafness. Moreover, perception tests involving speech, environmental sounds and music demonstrated that most auditory perception ability had been lost in all patients. On reaching school age, the patients were enrolled in schools for the deaf or special schools for handicapped children.