Auditory Deficits in Patients With Mild and Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Speech Syllable Evoked...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Otolaryngology
• Sleep Medicine

Background:

• Auditory function relies on adequate blood oxygen supply.
• Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) causes intermittent hypoxia, potentially affecting hearing.
• Early detection of auditory dysfunction in OSAS is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate auditory processes in adult patients with mild to moderate OSAS using speech-evoked auditory brainstem response (speech-ABR).
• To determine if speech-ABR can identify auditory dysfunction associated with OSAS severity.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 31 mild-to-moderate OSAS patients and a control group.
• Conducted otologic examinations, pure-tone audiometry, distortion product otoacoustic emissions, click-evoked auditory brainstem response (click-ABR), and speech-ABR.

Main Results:

• Pure-tone audiometry, otoacoustic emissions, and click-ABR showed no significant differences between groups.
• Speech-ABR revealed significantly longer latencies for onset and offset transient peaks (V, C, O) in the OSAS group.
• These latency differences correlated with the apnea-hypopnea index, indicating OSAS severity.

Conclusions:

• Mild to moderate OSAS is associated with auditory processing deficits.
• Auditory dysfunction in OSAS appears to worsen with increased disease severity.
• Speech-ABR shows potential as a biomarker for early diagnosis and evaluation of auditory changes in OSAS.