Unidad de Investigación en Neurodesarrollo Dr Augusto Fernández Guardiola, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, México.
PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e41002. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041002. Epub 2012 Jul 13.
Approximately 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 FINDINGS: A 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/SIGNIFICANCE: This 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.
大约有 2-4%有围产期危险因素的新生儿存在听力损失。我们的目的是分析听觉障碍在伴有围产期脑损伤和重度听力损失的婴儿中使用助听器对基于耳声发射（OAE）、听觉脑干反应（ABR）和听觉稳态反应（ASSR）评估的听觉功能的影响。
方法/主要发现：这是一项对伴有重度听力损失的婴儿进行听觉功能的前瞻性、纵向研究。在使用助听器之前和之后，对右侧听力进行了与左侧听力（未受刺激，用作对照）的比较。所有婴儿在使用助听器前后均进行了 OAE、ABR 和 ASSR 评估。使用助听器 6 个月后，平均 ABR 阈值从 90.0 分贝降至 80.0 分贝（p = 0.003）。在用作对照的左耳中，ABR 阈值从 94.6 分贝降至 87.6 分贝，但无统计学意义（p>0.05）。此外，在使用右耳助听器 6 个月后，4000-Hz 频率的 ASSR 阈值从 89 分贝降至 72 分贝（p = 0.013）；右耳的其他频率和左耳的所有频率在任何测量参数上均无显著差异（p>0.05）。OAE 在基线测试中缺失，并且在使用右耳助听器后没有变化（p>0.05）。
结论/意义：本研究提供的证据表明，早期使用助听器可降低 ABR 和 ASSR 评估中的听力阈值，而听觉受体的 OAE 评估无功能改变。
