No abstract

Seven central auditory tests were administered to 22 children, 8 to 10 years of age, considered as having auditory processing deficits. Analysis of the results indicated some tests to be significantly more sensitive than others in detecting auditory processing problems. Findings also demonstrated the advantages of a test battery over a single test and the value of employing central auditory tests for the detection of auditory processing difficulties in children. In addition, considerations for proper test battery construction are discussed in light of the results from this study.

For many years (auditory) middle latency response (MLR) reportedly has been an excellent electrophysiological procedure for estimating frequency specific auditory thresholds. Currently the 40 Hz potential, a derivative of the MLR, holds even greater promise for threshold testing. MLR also appears to have potentially valuable applications in the evaluation of functional hearing loss and assessment of higher auditory function. However, MLR is not without controversy. Questions of origin, filtering effects, and its use in pediatric assessment are current issues surrounding applications of MLR. The following article analyzes the values and limitations of MLR within the framework of past, present, and future research and clinical uses.

Sixteen patients with confirmed mass lesions of the posterior fossa and normal hearing sensitivity for pure tones were studied. Patients' main symptoms, auditory brain-stem response (ABR), and lesion size were analyzed. All patients manifested neurologic and/or otoneurologic symptoms or complained of hearing difficulty disproportionate to their pure-tone findings. Interestingly, the patients in this select group were younger (mean = 34 years) than the typical patient with a posterior fossa tumor. ABR results were abnormal in 15 of the patients, although several indices--including absolute and interwave latencies, interaural latency difference, and wave presence/absence--were employed to achieve this sensitivity. Lesion size varied considerably and failed to correlate with ABR or pure-tone results.

Five cases of children with auditory processing problems are presented. These children had essentially normal peripheral hearing and ENT exam, but were referred with a question of hearing loss. An auditory perceptual test battery including rapidly alternating speech (RASP), binaural fusion, low pass filtered speech (LPFS), competing sentences, staggered spondiac words (SSW), dichotic digits and frequency patterns was employed. Though some of these tests did not show a perceptual deficit, the majority did depict specific types of auditory processing problems. Based on the information provided by this test battery, appropriate diagnosis and therapy can be provided for the patient.