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[Audiologic evaluation of children by auditory responses of the brainstem]
J Rodríguez1, T Suárez Fernández
1Servicio de Neurofisiología Clínica, Hospital Valle del Nalón, Riaño-Langreo, Asturias.
Insights
Brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAER) effectively evaluate auditory function in children when other tests fail. BAER confirms hearing impairment, its severity, and location, aiding diagnosis in pediatric audiology.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Audiology
- Neurophysiology
- Otolaryngology
Context:
- Evaluating auditory function in children (0-14 years) presents challenges due to age, cooperation, and communication barriers.
- Traditional audiological tests like pure tone audiometry may yield unreliable results in young or uncooperative pediatric patients.
- Otolaryngology referrals often require objective measures to assess hearing function.
Purpose:
- To assess the utility of Brainstem Auditory Evoked Responses (BAER) in evaluating pediatric auditory function.
- To determine if BAER can overcome limitations of conventional audiological tests in children.
- To investigate specific BAER parameters for diagnostic accuracy.
Summary:
- Brainstem Auditory Evoked Responses (BAER) were recorded in 112 children to assess auditory function.
- Key BAER parameters analyzed included Wave V threshold, latency-intensity function, and interwave timing.
- Results demonstrated BAER's effectiveness in confirming audiological impairment, determining laterality, quantifying hearing loss, and aiding topographic diagnosis.
Impact:
- BAER provides a reliable, objective method for hearing assessment in challenging pediatric populations.
- This technique aids in confirming hearing loss, differentiating unilateral from bilateral involvement, and localizing auditory pathway lesions.
- BAER findings contribute to more accurate diagnosis and management of hearing disorders in children.
Abstract:
Brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAER) were recorded in 112 children (0-14 years) submitted to us from a ORL source to evaluate the auditory function. The othologic examination and different audiologic tests (pure tone audiometry, impedance measurement, stapedial reflex) showed no definite results due to several reasons including age, uncooperativeness, low reliability, or communication impairment. The following items were evaluated: 1) Wave V threshold. 2) Latency-intensity function. 3) Interwave timing, I-V amplitude ratio, wave amputation, response to the changing rate of stimulation. Results showed the utility of BAER to: 1) Confirm the audiologic impairment: 2) determine if the anomalies are uni or bilateral; 3) quantify the intensity of hearing loss, and 4) establish a topographic diagnosis of the disease.