Auditory neuropathy/auditory dys-synchrony in hearing aid users and non-users at a school for the deaf.

摘要

Behavioral and electrophysiological tests are often used individually or together to identify the status of a person's auditory system. Typically these test results are consistent with each other but there are cases when audiological test results may not agree. Worthington and Peters (1980) were among the first researchers to identify 4 cases of quantifiable hearing with absent or abnormal Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR). This hearing disorder is now known as Auditory Neuropathy/Auditory Dys-Synchrony (AN/AD). Since the initial discovery of AN/AD there have been many reports in the literature describing this heterogeneous population. Successful management of this population is variable and minimal or no success with hearing aids has been reported. There are few estimates of the prevalence of this disorder in schools for the deaf with estimates ranging from 1.8% to 10% (Cheng et al., 2005; Lee et al., 2001; Tang et al., 2004). Due to the relatively recent identification of this disorder and the difficulties in diagnosis and management, further evaluation of this disorder in students at schools for the deaf is warranted to identify prevalence in this population.; This investigation evaluated 24 students at a school for the deaf. The students were divided into 2 groups: hearing aid users and non-users. The test battery consisted of: tympanometry, ipsilateral and contralateral acoustic reflexes, pure tone testing, speech testing, transient otoacoustic emissions, distortion product otoacoustic emissions and ABR testing. Participants were tested during the regular school day. ABR testing was performed under natural sleep. This study identified two probable cases of AN/AD (1 hearing aid user and 1 non-user) for a suggested prevalence of 8.33% of AN/AD in schools for the deaf. The audiologist's test battery needs to include tests that will assist in the identification of AN/AD. Audiologists at schools for the deaf should consider adding evoked otoacoustic emissions and acoustic reflex testing to the audiological test battery to identify any current or new students with AN/AD previously diagnosed with a sensorineural hearing loss.