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(Central) auditory processing: the impact of otitis media

Leticia Reis Borges1, Jorge Rizzato Paschoal, Maria Francisca Colella-Santos

  • 1Children and Adolescents Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil. rborges@yahoo.com.br

Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
|August 7, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Children with early-life otitis media and ventilation tubes show impaired auditory processing, with public school students performing worse on central auditory processing tests compared to private school peers.

Area of Science:

  • Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology
  • Pediatric Otolaryngology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Otitis media, particularly secretory otitis media, in early childhood can impact auditory development.
  • Ventilation tube surgery is a common intervention for recurrent or persistent otitis media.
  • The long-term effects of early otitis media on central auditory processing skills require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze auditory processing test results in children with a history of otitis media during their first five years.
  • To classify central auditory processing findings based on specific hearing skills evaluated.
  • To compare auditory processing outcomes between children from public and private schools with a history of otitis media.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 109 students aged 8-12 years was divided into three groups: control (no otitis media history), experimental I (public school, history of secretory otitis media), and experimental II (private school, history of secretory otitis media).
  • All participants underwent comprehensive audiological evaluations and central auditory processing tests.
  • Experimental groups had undergone surgery for bilateral ventilation tube placement.

Main Results:

  • Children with a history of secretory otitis media performed worse on the dichotic digits test and gaps-in-noise test compared to controls.
  • Left ear performance was significantly poorer than the right ear in the dichotic digits test and pitch pattern sequence test.
  • Public school students (experimental group I) demonstrated significantly lower scores on the dichotic digits and gaps-in-noise tests compared to private school students (experimental group II), indicating deficits in temporal resolution and figure-ground perception.

Conclusions:

  • Early-life secretory otitis media requiring ventilation tube surgery is associated with persistent deficits in auditory processing abilities.
  • Children from public schools with a history of otitis media exhibit poorer auditory processing outcomes compared to their private school counterparts.
  • Findings highlight the importance of early detection and intervention for auditory processing disorders in children with a history of otitis media.
Abstract

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