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Low frequency hearing threshold determination in newborns, infants and mentally retarded children by middle latency
1Department of Otolaryngology, Cantonal University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
Insights
Middle latency responses (MLR) accurately estimate hearing thresholds in the low frequencies for infants. Early auditory evoked potentials (EAEP) are better indicators for high-frequency hearing assessment in children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Audiology
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Accurate hearing assessment in infants and children is crucial for early diagnosis and intervention.
- Existing auditory evoked potentials have limitations in providing comprehensive frequency-specific hearing thresholds.
- Middle latency responses (MLR) and early auditory evoked potentials (EAEP) are electrophysiological measures of auditory processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of MLR and EAEP in estimating hearing thresholds across different frequencies in infants and children.
- To compare the threshold estimates derived from MLR and EAEP with established psychoacoustic testing.
Main Methods:
- Recorded MLR (10-50 ms) using tone-pips (1000 Hz, 500 Hz) and EAEP (0-10 ms) in 68 neonates, infants, and children.
- Participants included premature, term, and older children with and without central nervous system or psychiatric disorders.
- Auditory evoked potentials were recorded during natural sleep, chloral-hydrate sedation, or ketamine anesthesia.
Main Results:
- MLR provided reliable hearing threshold estimations, particularly for lower frequencies (500 Hz, 1000 Hz).
- Click-evoked EAEP were effective indicators for high-frequency hearing thresholds.
- Thresholds obtained from both MLR and EAEP correlated with subsequent psychoacoustic pure tone testing results.
Conclusions:
- MLR are valuable for assessing low-frequency hearing sensitivity in infants and children.
- EAEP are more suitable for evaluating high-frequency hearing capabilities in pediatric populations.
- These electrophysiological methods offer complementary information for comprehensive hearing evaluations.
Abstract:
Middle latency (10-50 ms) responses (MLR) evoked by tone-pips (1,000 Hz 500 Hz) and early (0-10 ms) auditory evoked potentials (EAEP) evoked by chicks were recorded on 68 newborn babies (premature or at term), infants and children, some with central nervous system or psychiatric disorders, who had normal or impaired hearing. MLR were obtained either during sleep, chloral-hydrate sedation or ketamine anesthesia. Thresholds estimated from MLR and EAEP were compared to those from subsequent psychoacoustic pure tone testing. We confirm that MLR provide good threshold estimates for hearing in the low frequency range, whereas click evoked EAEP are good threshold indicators only for high frequencies.