Evaluation of higher-level auditory function in children with asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection

Higher-level auditory/cognitive functions were evaluated in 16 children: eight with asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections and eight children documented not to have asymptomatic congenital CMV infections. Hearing sensitivity was within normal limits in all subjects. Results in both groups were within the normal range on the screening measures of verbal abilities, visual perception, social behavior, and memory span. In contrast, results of the auditory measures revealed abnormal dichotic speech perception, delayed latencies on auditory brainstem evoked responses, and disproportionately slow reaction times in a difficult listening condition (Stroop task). With the exception of dichotic speech perception, however, the pattern of auditory results suggested subtle disorders that were difficult to discern unequivocally with the small subject sample. Further studies are encouraged to determine the status of higher-level auditory/cognitive functions in children with asymptomatic congenital CMV infections.