Influence of unilateral deafness on auditory evoked magnetic field.

To investigate the effect of unilateral deafness on central auditory mechanisms, we examined patients with unilateral deafness of various durations. Auditory evoked magnetic fields (AEF) were recorded using a whole-head neuromagnetometer. In patients who had unilateral deafness for more than 3 weeks, the average N100m latency in the ipsilateral hemisphere did not differ from that in the contralateral hemisphere. In addition, in some patients with congenital or early onset deafness, the equivalent current dipole (ECD) moment was larger in the ipsilateral hemisphere than in the contralateral hemisphere. These findings suggest that unilateral deafness may cause reorganization of the central auditory pathway. They also suggest that central auditory pathway in adults has some plasticity, though not as much as in childhood.