Audiological deficits in brain-injured children and adolescents

A retrospective chart review of 62 children aged 2 to 18.5 years admitted over a 4-year period to a brain injury rehabilitation unit was performed. Glasgow Coma Scales were not always recorded at the referring institutions, but all but three of the children in the series experienced a period of unresponsiveness to the environment for a period of at least one hour. Available Glasgow Coma scores at the time of injury ranged from 3 to 13. Maximum coma duration was 3 months. All children received an audiological evaluation. Sixteen per cent of the children had conductive hearing losses, 13% had sensorineural hearing loss, and 16% had central auditory processing problems. Three of these children were found to have combined losses, one with both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, and two with sensorineural hearing loss and central auditory processing problems. Of the five patients with the most severe injuries and prolonged comas, none had hearing deficits. Twenty-five of the 62 patients, or 40%, had hearing deficits, of which 15 are known to persist.