Fernanda Cristina Leite Magliaro

Purpose To evaluate the influence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on the P300 response of auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) and to correlate the electrophysiological findings with OSA severity. Methods Patients with no OSA and mild, moderate, and severe OSA according to polysomnography (PSG) with normal hearing and no comorbidities were studied. Individuals with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 40 kg/m², hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, the use of chronic medications, and a risk of hearing loss were excluded. All patients underwent full PSG and auditory ERP measurement using the oddball paradigm with tone burst and speech stimuli. For P300 analysis (latencies and amplitudes), normal multiple linear regression models were adjusted with the groups (No OSA, Mild OSA, Moderate OSA, Severe OSA), age, BMI, and Epworth score as explanatory variables. Results We studied 54 individuals (47 males) aged 35 ± 8 years with a BMI of 28.4 ± 4.3 kg/m². Patients were divided according to the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) derived from PSG into no OSA (n = 14), mild (n = 16), moderate (n = 12), and severe OSA (n = 12) groups. Patients with severe OSA presented prolonged P300 latencies with tone burst stimuli compared to patients with no OSA and those with mild and moderate OSA. Conclusion Severe OSA is associated with impairment of the P300 response of auditory ERPs, suggesting a decrease in the processing speed of acoustic information that may be mediated by the level of somnolence.

Purpose: to verify whether the frequent musical exposure can impair peripheral and central auditory pathway responses in professional orchestral musicians. Methods: 45 male individuals from 19 to 40 years old participated in the study. They were divided into two groups: one comprising 30 orchestral musicians who played strings or wind instruments, and another with 15 nonmusicians. The two groups were submitted to both conventional and high-frequency pure-tone audiometry, transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions, and frequency-following response. The results were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical analysis, using the one-way ANOVA unmatched samples parametric test, with a 5% significance level. Results: no significant differences were observed between the hearing thresholds in both conventional and high-frequency audiometry and frequency-following response. However, there were statistically significant differences between transient-evoked otoacoustic emission responses, with lower responses to musicians in comparison to the nonmusician group. Conclusion: the results suggest that frequent musical exposure experienced by orchestral musicians can impair the cochlear hair cells’ function. Therefore, audiological monitoring is important to detect subclinical impairments.

The objective of this study was to compare long-latency auditory evoked potentials before and after hearing aid fittings in children with sensorineural hearing loss compared with age-matched children with normal hearing.Thirty-two subjects of both genders ...

Descritores Potenciais Evocados Auditivos; Audiologia; Sistema Nervoso Central; Plasticidade Neuronal; Criança

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with middle ear acoustic transference and cochlear function. Methods Male individuals with and without mild, moderate, and severe OSA according to standard criteria of full polysomnography and no co-morbidities were studied. Subjects with BMI ≥40 kg/m², present or past treatment for OSA, with heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, use of chronic medications, and previous history of risk for hearing loss were excluded. All subjects were submitted to full polysomnography, evaluation of wideband acoustic immittance by energy of absorbance (EA), and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE). Results We studied 38 subjects (age 35.8 ± 7.2 years, BMI 28.8 ± 3.8 kg/m²) divided into no OSA (n = 10, age 33.6 ± 6.4 years, BMI 26.9 ± 4.1 kg/m²), mild (n = 11, age 32.8 ± 2.9 years, BMI 28.5 ± 3.5 kg/m²), moderate (n = 8, age 34.1 ± 6.8 years, BMI 29.6 ± 3.3 kg/m²), and severe OSA (n = 9, age 41.2 ± 9.2 years, BMI 30.5 ± 3.8 kg/m²). EA was similar between groups. In contrast, patients with severe OSA presented significantly lower DPOAE amplitudes when compared to the control, mild, and moderate OSA groups (p ≤ 0.03, for all comparisons). Conclusions Acoustic transference function of middle ear is similar in adults with and without OSA. Severe OSA is independently associated with cochlear function impairment in patients with no significant co-morbidities.

Central auditory pathway maturation in children depends on auditory sensory stimulation. The objective of the present study was to monitor the cortical maturation of children with cochlear implants using electrophysiological and auditory skills measurements. The study was longitudinal and consisted of 30 subjects, 15 (8 girls and 7 boys) of whom had a cochlear implant, with a mean age at activation time of 36.4 months (minimum, 17 months; maximum, 66 months), and 15 of whom were normal-hearing children who were matched based on gender and chronological age. The auditory and speech skills of the children with cochlear implants were evaluated using GASP, IT-MAIS and MUSS measures. Both groups underwent electrophysiological evaluation using long-latency auditory evoked potentials. Each child was evaluated at three and nine months after cochlear implant activation, with the same time interval adopted for the hearing children. The results showed improvements in auditory and speech skills as measured by IT-MAIS and MUSS. Similarly, the long-latency auditory evoked potential evaluation revealed a decrease in P1 component latency; however, the latency remained significantly longer than that of the hearing children, even after nine months of cochlear implant use. It was observed that a shorter P1 latency corresponded to more evident development of auditory skills. Regarding auditory behavior, it was observed that children who could master the auditory skill of discrimination showed better results in other evaluations, both behavioral and electrophysiological, than those who had mastered only the speech-detection skill. Therefore, cochlear implant auditory stimulation facilitated auditory pathway maturation, which decreased the latency of the P1 component and advanced the development of auditory and speech skills. The analysis of the long-latency auditory evoked potentials revealed that the P1 component was an important biomarker of auditory development during the rehabilitation process.

RESUMO Objetivo Analisar como os Potenciais Evocados Auditivos de Longa Latência (PEALL) variam de acordo com a idade na população infantil, por meio de revisão sistemática da literatura. Estratégia de pesquisa Depois da formulação da pergunta da pesquisa, o levantamento bibliográfico foi realizado em cinco bases de dados, com os seguintes descritores: Eletrofisiologia (Electrophysiology), Potenciais Evocados Auditivos (Auditory Evoked Potentials), Criança (Child), Plasticidade Neuronal (Neuronal Plasticity) e Audiologia (Audiology). Critérios de seleção Artigos com nível de evidência 1, publicados na íntegra entre os anos de 1995 e 2015 na língua Portuguesa Brasileira ou Inglesa. Análise dos dados Foram analisados os aspectos relacionados ao surgimento, morfologia e latência dos componentes P1, N1, P2 e N2. Resultados Foram localizados 388 estudos; contudo apenas 21 contemplaram os critérios de inclusão para análise. O componente P1 caracteriza-se como o de maior ocorrência em crianças pequenas, sendo observado por volta de 100-150 ms, o qual tende a diminuir com o decorrer da idade cronológica. O componente N2 mostrou-se como o segundo componente mais registrado em crianças, sendo observado por volta de 200-250 ms. Os demais componentes N1 e P2 mostram-se menos frequentes e passam a ser visualizados e registrados ao longo do processo maturacional. Conclusão A maturação dos PEALL acontece gradativamente, sendo o surgimento dos componentes P1, N1, P2 e N2 bem como seus valores de latência variáveis na infância. Os componentes P1 e N2 são os mais observados e descritos na população pediátrica. A diversidade de protocolos dificulta a comparação entre os estudos.