Evaluation of postural stability and vestibulo-ocular reflex in adults with chronic suppurative otitis media.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the vestibulospinal reflex and vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) using posturography and the video head impulse test (vHIT). METHODS: Sixty-five patients with CSOM and 65 healthy participants as controls were included. Patients with CSOM were instructed to complete the dizziness handicap inventory (DHI). All participants underwent otoscopy, pure-tone audiometry, posturography sensory organization test (SOT), and vHIT. RESULTS: Patients with CSOM exhibited a high prevalence of dizziness. The CSOM group had poor SOT vestibular scores compared to the control group. Patients with CSOM had worse sways in the antero-posterior and mediolateral planes. The CSOM group was divided into two subgroups according to the type of hearing loss. SOT vestibular scores were significantly poorer in the mixed hearing loss group than those in the conductive hearing loss group. We found a positive correlation between disease duration and poor SOT vestibular scores. Moreover, poor SOT vestibular scores correlated with high DHI scores. We found abnormalities in the vHIT results in the CSOM group in the form of low VOR gain and corrective saccades. CONCLUSION: Our study provides clinical evidence of dizziness, poor postural control, and VOR abnormalities in patients with CSOM. The presence of sensory elements of hearing loss in patients with CSOM appears to be positively associated with vestibular dysfunction.

Binaural interaction component of the auditory brainstem response in children with autism spectrum disorder.

INTRODUCTION: There is ample evidence that auditory dysfunction is a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Binaural interaction component (BIC) manifests binaural interaction and is valid and proven response which reflects ongoing binaural processing. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the differences in binaural interaction component of auditory brainstem response (ABR-BIC) between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and normal peers and to correlate between ABR-BIC amplitudes and the acquired communication skills in ASD children. METHODS: ASD was diagnosed according to the criteria of 5th edition of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-V) and all children with ASD underwent test of acquired communication skills (TACS). Click evoked ABRs were elicited by left monaural, right monaural and binaural stimulation at intensity of 65 dBnHL in all participants. ABR-BIC was then calculated as the difference between the binaurally evoked ABR waveform and a predicted binaural waveform created by algebraically summing the left and right monaurally evoked ABRs. The difference in amplitudes that gives rise to ABR-BIC is at IV-VI waves. RESULTS: ABR-BIC amplitudes were demonstrated to be significantly reduced in the ASD group compared to the control group. There was significant positive correlation between ABR-BIC amplitude and the language and social scores in TACS. CONCLUSION: This study provided an objective evidence of binaural processing disorder in children with ASD.