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Year: 2013  Vol. 17   Num. Suppl. 1  - Print:
COCHLEAR IMPLANTS IN AUDITORY NEUROPATHY: A STUDY OF TWO PATIENTS
Author(s):
Maria Isabel Kós, Felippe Félix, Francisco José Vieira Osterne, Shiro Tomita
Abstract:

INTRODUCTION: Auditory neuropathy (AN) is a hearing disorder characterized by poor speech discrimination that is disproportionate to the degree of hearing loss, caused by an abnormal or absent auditory brainstem response in the presence of normal otoacoustic emissions and cochlear microphonics and absent acoustic reflexes. Technological advances have increased diagnostic and intervention resources for patients with hearing loss caused by AN. AIM: To study the hearing results of 2 children with auditory neuropathy, who were using a unilateral multichannel cochlear implant system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We selected 2 patients with AN. Intraoperative objective measures were used to help program the speech processor for each child. Each child underwent regular postoperative follow-up assessments to ensure complete healing of the surgical incision, to assess their general medical condition, and to program the speech processor. Their hearing and communication skills were assessed on a regular basis. After they had used the device for 1 year, their hearing was evaluated, which included word and sentence recognition tests. RESULTS: The pure-tone audiometry (PTA)of the 2 patients reached 32.5 dB. Speech perception tests of the patients showed 80% recognition of open set sentences, 89% recognition of vowels, and 64% recognition of monosyllabic words. CONCLUSION: Hearing evaluations obtained 1 year after the first implant programming demonstrated that patients with AN show excellent results on open-set sentence and word tests. The available data suggest that electrical stimulation can compensate for neural asynchrony and that cochlear implants aid the rehabilitation process of children with AN.

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