Evaluation of Hearing Thresholds in Infants With Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Auditory Brainstem and Steady-State...

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Neuroscience
• Developmental Pediatrics

Background:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often associated with hearing impairments.
• Auditory brainstem response (ABR) and auditory steady-state response (ASSR) are electrophysiological tests used to assess hearing in children.
• Direct comparisons of ABR and ASSR in children with ASD and speech delays are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare click auditory brainstem response (ABR) and chirp auditory steady-state response (ASSR) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and speech delays.
• To determine if differences in hearing thresholds can be identified between these two electrophysiological methods in this population.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of children with ASD and speech delays (cases) and children with speech delays without ASD (controls).
• Participants were referred to Karamandaneio Children's Hospital between December 2019 and December 2023.
• Evaluated 30 children (aged 19-68 months) using click ABR and chirp ASSR.

Main Results:

• All ears responding to click ABR also responded to chirp ASSR, indicating ASSR provides additional threshold information.
• Click ABR thresholds showed significant associations with chirp ASSR threshold averages at 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz.
• Children with ASD exhibited statistically significantly lower mean scores for both click ABR and chirp ASSR threshold averages, with a more pronounced effect for chirp ASSR.

Conclusions:

• Chirp ASSR offers more comprehensive hearing threshold data compared to click ABR in children with ASD and speech delays.
• Children with ASD and speech delays present with significantly reduced hearing thresholds as measured by both ABR and ASSR.
• The findings support the utility of chirp ASSR for detailed audiological assessment in children with ASD and speech delays.