Auditory Event Related Potentials in children with autism spectrum disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze auditory cortical processing in high functioning ASD individuals. METHODS: Thirty individuals were included in the study (15 with Autism Spectrum Disorder and 15 with typical development), and their Auditory Event Related Potentials evaluation, elicited with tone burst and speech stimuli, were analyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between individuals with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder without intellectual disability and those with typical development in the auditory Event-related Potentials elicited with tone bursts or speech stimuli. CONCLUSIONS: The results of Auditory Event Related Potentials did not show any change at the cortical level in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Severe obstructive sleep apnea is associated with cochlear function impairment.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with middle ear acoustic transference and cochlear function. METHODS: Male individuals with and without mild, moderate, and severe OSA according to standard criteria of full polysomnography and no co-morbidities were studied. Subjects with BMI ≥40 kg/m2, present or past treatment for OSA, with heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, use of chronic medications, and previous history of risk for hearing loss were excluded. All subjects were submitted to full polysomnography, evaluation of wideband acoustic immittance by energy of absorbance (EA), and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE). RESULTS: We studied 38 subjects (age 35.8 ± 7.2 years, BMI 28.8 ± 3.8 kg/m2) divided into no OSA (n = 10, age 33.6 ± 6.4 years, BMI 26.9 ± 4.1 kg/m2), mild (n = 11, age 32.8 ± 2.9 years, BMI 28.5 ± 3.5 kg/m2), moderate (n = 8, age 34.1 ± 6.8 years, BMI 29.6 ± 3.3 kg/m2), and severe OSA (n = 9, age 41.2 ± 9.2 years, BMI 30.5 ± 3.8 kg/m2). EA was similar between groups. In contrast, patients with severe OSA presented significantly lower DPOAE amplitudes when compared to the control, mild, and moderate OSA groups (p ≤ 0.03, for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: Acoustic transference function of middle ear is similar in adults with and without OSA. Severe OSA is independently associated with cochlear function impairment in patients with no significant co-morbidities.

Correction: Cortical maturation in children with cochlear implants: Correlation between electrophysiological and behavioral measurement.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171177.].

Cortical maturation in children with cochlear implants: Correlation between electrophysiological and behavioral measurement.

Central auditory pathway maturation in children depends on auditory sensory stimulation. The objective of the present study was to monitor the cortical maturation of children with cochlear implants using electrophysiological and auditory skills measurements. The study was longitudinal and consisted of 30 subjects, 15 (8 girls and 7 boys) of whom had a cochlear implant, with a mean age at activation time of 36.4 months (minimum, 17 months; maximum, 66 months), and 15 of whom were normal-hearing children who were matched based on gender and chronological age. The auditory and speech skills of the children with cochlear implants were evaluated using GASP, IT-MAIS and MUSS measures. Both groups underwent electrophysiological evaluation using long-latency auditory evoked potentials. Each child was evaluated at three and nine months after cochlear implant activation, with the same time interval adopted for the hearing children. The results showed improvements in auditory and speech skills as measured by IT-MAIS and MUSS. Similarly, the long-latency auditory evoked potential evaluation revealed a decrease in P1 component latency; however, the latency remained significantly longer than that of the hearing children, even after nine months of cochlear implant use. It was observed that a shorter P1 latency corresponded to more evident development of auditory skills. Regarding auditory behavior, it was observed that children who could master the auditory skill of discrimination showed better results in other evaluations, both behavioral and electrophysiological, than those who had mastered only the speech-detection skill. Therefore, cochlear implant auditory stimulation facilitated auditory pathway maturation, which decreased the latency of the P1 component and advanced the development of auditory and speech skills. The analysis of the long-latency auditory evoked potentials revealed that the P1 component was an important biomarker of auditory development during the rehabilitation process.

Audiological and electrophysiological assessment of professional pop/rock musicians.

In the present study, we evaluated peripheral and central auditory pathways in professional musicians (with and without hearing loss) compared to non-musicians. The goal was to verify if music exposure could affect auditory pathways as a whole. This is a prospective study that compared the results obtained between three groups (musicians with and without hearing loss and non-musicians). Thirty-two male individuals participated and they were assessed by: Immittance measurements, pure-tone air conduction thresholds at all frequencies from 0.25 to 20 kHz, Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions, Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR), and Cognitive Potential. The musicians showed worse hearing thresholds in both conventional and high frequency audiometry when compared to the non-musicians; the mean amplitude of Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions was smaller in the musicians group, but the mean latencies of Auditory Brainstem Response and Cognitive Potential were diminished in the musicians when compared to the non-musicians. Our findings suggest that the population of musicians is at risk for developing music-induced hearing loss. However, the electrophysiological evaluation showed that latency waves of ABR and P300 were diminished in musicians, which may suggest that the auditory training to which these musicians are exposed acts as a facilitator of the acoustic signal transmission to the cortex.

Audiometria de tronco encefálico e síndrome de Landau-Kleffner: estudo de caso / Auditory brainstem response and Landau-Kleffner syndrome: case report

Objetivo: Relatar o caso de um paciente com diagnóstico de Síndrome de Landau-Kleffner (SLK) que foi acompanhado fonoaudiologicamente. Método: Realização de Audiometria, Logoaudiometria, Medidas de Imitância Acústica, Audiometria de Tronco Encefálico (ABR) e avaliação de linguagem durante um período de 7 meses, pré e pós tratamento com corticóides administrados após crises convulsivas. Resultados: Observaram-se mudanças nos resultados das avaliações audiológica e de linguagem após tratamento medicamentoso. O resultado da Audiometria de tronco encefálico também mostrou melhora após o tratamento com corticóides. Conclusão: Necessidade de mais estudos que relacionem alterações de linguagem com alterações na audiometria de tronco encefálico, com o objetivo de obter um melhor prognóstico para os indivíduos portadores da Síndrome de Landau-Kleffner.