Central auditory processing in teenagers with non-cholesteatomatous chronic otitis media

Márcia Salgado Machado,Adriane Ribeiro Teixeira,Sady Selaimen Da Costa

doi:10.1016/j.bjorl.2019.02.006

Abstract

IntroductionEvidences of possible effects of early age otitis media with effusion in the central auditory processing, emphasize the need to consider such effects also in subjects with chronic otitis media. AimTo investigate and analyze the impact of non-cholesteatomatous chronic otitis media on central auditory processing in teenagers. MethodsThis is a study in which 68 teenagers were recruited, 34 with a diagnosis of non-cholesteatomatous chronic otitis media (study group) and 34 without otological disease history (control group). The evaluation of the subjects consisted of: anamnesis, pure-tone threshold audiometry, speech audiometry and a behavioral test battery for assessment of central auditory processing. ResultsA statistically significant difference was found between the means observed in the study and control groups in all tests performed. An association was found between the control group and subgroups of the study group with unilateral alterations in all tests. An association was shown between the results for the control group and study group for family income, with a greater impact on subjects with a lower income. ConclusionsNon-cholesteatomatous chronic otitis media affects the central auditory processing in teenagers suffering from the disorder, and monaural low-redundancy hearing is the most affected auditory mechanism. Unilateral conductive changes cause more damage than bilateral ones, and lower family income seems to lead to more changes to the central auditory processing of subjects with non-cholesteatomatous chronic otitis media.

Highlights

Central auditory processing (CAP) increases the efficiency and effectiveness with which the central nervous system uses auditory information.[1]
With regard to the results obtained according to the type of conductive defect, the data were initially compared between the control group (CG) and study group (SG) subgroups with unilateral and bilateral conductive defects
A statistically significant difference was observed in all CAP tests results in a comparison of the CG with the Unilateral Conductive alterations (UNICON)

Summary

Introduction

Central auditory processing (CAP) increases the efficiency and effectiveness with which the central nervous system uses auditory information.[1]. In addition to these causes, early recurrent otitis media with effusion has been considered to be a risk factor for the development of CAPD.[2,5] It should be noted that the term ‘‘recurrent’’ refers to a history of six or more episodes of the disease,[6] and the term ‘‘early’’ is applied when the condition occurs during the first 5 years of life.[7,8] it is recommended that individuals with a significant history of early otitis media or other conditions that result in auditory sensory deprivation be referred for CAP assessment.[3]

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Conclusion