Short-term auditory deprivation: effect on brainstem electrical response.
Recent research has associated long-standing conductive hearing losses and changes in brainstem neural responses. Investigations on human subjects to date have used behavioral modes in evaluating response changes for both short-term (induced) and long-term conductive losses. The present study measured brainstem electrical responses (BSERs) from 30 normally hearing adults divided into unilateral-induced conductive-loss groups of 10, 20 and 30 h. This auditory deprivation produced a significant decrease in the wave-I latency (auditory nerve response) across all groups. It is concluded that short-term auditory deprivation can result in VIII nerve fiber hyper-excitability when initially stimulated after the deprivation period. The occurrence of temporary changes under very short-term deprivation raises the possibility that alterations to brainstem neural responses may also be measurable electrophysiologically in individuals with long-term conductive losses, such as children with otitis media.
D000328:Adult; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D011930:Reaction Time; D012022:Reflex, Acoustic