Complex Auditory Brain Stem Response in Children with History of Otitis Media with Effusion

Abstract

Background: Otitis media with effusion (OM) refers to inflammation of the middle ear. It occurs in the area between the ear drum (the end of the outer ear) & the inner ear, including the eustachian tube. It is very common in childhood, with the average toddler having two to three episodes a year. The aim: To study c-ABR in children having history of otitis media with effusion&To correlate c-ABR with language development & scholastic achievement in children with history of otitis media with effusion, if any. Method &Material:control group: comprised fifteen normal hearing children ranged from 6 years to 12 years. They should have normal middle ear functions, No past history of repeated attack of otitis media with effusion, Absence of neurological deficits, Average or above average intelligent quotient (IQ), negative prenatal, natal and postnatal and with normal developmental history (walking, teething, toilet training and normal language development). Study group: Twenty two children with age matched to control group were included in the present study.Results:Result of the study pointed to statistically significant difference in Arabic CAPD questionnaire scores and scholastic achievement scores between control and study group. Complex ABR showed significant statistical difference in the VA slope, C,D,E,O latency and FFR between the two study groups. Positive statistical correlation was found between duration of otitis media and complex ABR at VA slope and O latency, language age and listening, language in central questionnaire and scholastic achievement. Also, positive statistical correlation was found between complex ABR and CAPD questionnaire and scholastic achievement. Conclusions:children with a history of chronic otitis media with effusion had deficient neural timing in response to the onset and offset of the transient speech stimuli. This might resulting in impairment of speech encoding at the brain stem. That in turn affect on language development, scholastic achievement and auditory processing abilities. Keywords: CAPD: central auditory processing disorders, c-ABR: complex auditory brain stem response.