Abstract
BackgroundApproximately 2–4% of newborns with perinatal risk factors present with hearing loss. Our aim was to analyze the effect of hearing aid use on auditory function evaluated based on otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), auditory brain responses (ABRs) and auditory steady state responses (ASSRs) in infants with perinatal brain injury and profound hearing loss.Methodology/Principal FindingsA prospective, longitudinal study of auditory function in infants with profound hearing loss. Right side hearing before and after hearing aid use was compared with left side hearing (not stimulated and used as control). All infants were subjected to OAE, ABR and ASSR evaluations before and after hearing aid use. The average ABR threshold decreased from 90.0 to 80.0 dB (p = 0.003) after six months of hearing aid use. In the left ear, which was used as a control, the ABR threshold decreased from 94.6 to 87.6 dB, which was not significant (p>0.05). In addition, the ASSR threshold in the 4000-Hz frequency decreased from 89 dB to 72 dB (p = 0.013) after six months of right ear hearing aid use; the other frequencies in the right ear and all frequencies in the left ear did not show significant differences in any of the measured parameters (p>0.05). OAEs were absent in the baseline test and showed no changes after hearing aid use in the right ear (p>0.05).Conclusions/SignificanceThis study provides evidence that early hearing aid use decreases the hearing threshold in ABR and ASSR assessments with no functional modifications in the auditory receptor, as evaluated by OAEs.
Highlights
Perinatal brain injury (PBI) consists of a large group of conditions that produce mild to severe impairments in motor, visual, auditory and cognitive functions [1,2]
Conclusions/Significance: This study provides evidence that early hearing aid use decreases the hearing threshold in auditory brain responses (ABRs) and auditory steady state responses (ASSRs) assessments with no functional modifications in the auditory receptor, as evaluated by otoacoustic emissions (OAEs)
The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of early hearing aids (HA) use on auditory function in a group of infants
Summary
Perinatal brain injury (PBI) consists of a large group of conditions that produce mild to severe impairments in motor, visual, auditory and cognitive functions [1,2]. The most useful techniques for early hearing loss detection are auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and otoacoustic emissions (OAEs); new techniques such as auditory steady state responses (ASSRs) have been developed. These techniques show high sensitivity for detecting hearing loss in healthy and PBI infants [6,7,8,9,10]. Our aim was to analyze the effect of hearing aid use on auditory function evaluated based on otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), auditory brain responses (ABRs) and auditory steady state responses (ASSRs) in infants with perinatal brain injury and profound hearing loss
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