Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) with suspected deaf-blind children

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Neuroscience
• Developmental Pediatrics

Background:

• Assessing hearing in severely developmentally delayed infants and children is challenging.
• Many of these children are suspected of being both deaf and blind, complicating audiological evaluation.
• Auditory brainstem response (ABR) is a non-invasive electrophysiological test used to assess auditory function.

Observation:

• Auditory brainstem response (ABR) data were obtained from 79 severely developmentally delayed children.
• Results indicated normal hearing in 43%, mild-to-moderate hearing loss in 20.3%, and severe hearing loss in 3.8%.
• A significant portion (32.9%) showed no ABR response to clicks at 90 dB HL.

Findings:

• Auditory brainstem response (ABR) successfully determined hearing status in a high percentage of untestable children.
• A substantial number of children presumed deaf exhibited normal hearing thresholds via ABR.
• Only 3 children demonstrated neurological abnormalities through ABR, suggesting limited brainstem neuropathology in this cohort.

Implications:

• Auditory brainstem response (ABR) is a valuable tool for diagnosing hearing impairments in complex pediatric populations.
• It helps differentiate true hearing loss from other factors contributing to communication difficulties.
• Findings support the utility of ABR in identifying normal hearing in children with severe developmental delays and suspected deafness.