Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, China.
Wannan Medical College, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, China.
Trends Hear. 2023 Jan-Dec;27:23312165221148846. doi: 10.1177/23312165221148846.
This study investigates the effect of hearing aid use on the peripheral auditory pathways in children with sensorineural hearing loss prior to cochlear implantation, as revealed by the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR). Forty children with hearing aids were recruited. Half of them had normal inner ear structures and the other half had inner ear malformations (IEMs). The EABR was evoked by electrically stimulating the round window niche (RWN) and round window membrane (RWM) during the cochlear implantation operation. The onset age of hearing aid use was significantly correlated with the peak latencies, but not amplitudes, of the wave III (eIII) and wave V (eV). Higher EABR thresholds were found for RWN stimulation than for RWM stimulation and in the children with IEMs than in those without IEMs. Our study provides neurophysiological evidence that earlier use of hearing aids may ameliorate physiological functions of the peripheral auditory pathway in children with and without IEMs. The EABR evoked by the electrical stimulation at RWM is more sensitive compared with that at RWN for evaluating functions of the auditory conduction pathway.
本研究通过电诱发听性脑干反应（EABR）探讨了在人工耳蜗植入术前，助听器对伴有或不伴有内耳畸形（IEM）的感音神经性听力损失儿童的外周听觉通路的影响。共招募了 40 名佩戴助听器的儿童，其中一半儿童的内耳结构正常，另一半儿童的内耳存在畸形。EABR 通过在耳蜗植入手术期间刺激圆窗龛（RWN）和圆窗膜（RWM）来诱发。助听器使用的起始年龄与 III 波（eIII）和 V 波（eV）的潜伏期显著相关，但与振幅无关。与 RWM 刺激相比，RWN 刺激的 EABR 阈值更高，且在伴有 IEM 的儿童中比在不伴有 IEM 的儿童中更高。本研究提供了神经生理学证据，表明助听器的早期使用可能改善伴有和不伴有 IEM 的儿童的外周听觉通路的生理功能。与 RWN 刺激相比，RWM 刺激诱发的 EABR 对评估听觉传导通路功能更为敏感。
