title: Clinical interest of brainstem auditory evoked potentials in 72 children with inadequate language development.
abstract: The present study is of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) in 72 children, of 2 to 13 years of age, showing inadequate language development. The age of the children was mainly below the age of 4 (39 cases = 54%), peaking between 3 and 4 years of age (33 cases = 46%). Even so, 82% of our patients were 3 years old or over: 64% were boys, 36% girls, the proportion of boys falling off with age 26% (19 cases) of BAEPs recorded were normal, 74% (53 cases) pathological. High prevalence of undiagnosed hearing loss was found. Physiopathological BAEP classification showed endocochlear impairment in 68% (36 cases), conductive impairment in 21% (11 cases) and retrocochlear impairment in 11% (6 cases) of subjects. Unilateral impairment (20 cases = 28%) cannot account for inadequate language development; but, in the 8 cases (11%) of total bilateral hearing loss, and the 15 cases (21%) of partial bilateral impairment, hearing loss more or equal to 50 dB HL, impaired hearing would play a role in the retardation.
authors.affiliation: Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1. Laboratoire Perception & Mécanismes Auditifs, UPRESA CNRS 5020, Hôpital E. Herriot, France. lcollet@cimacpcu.univ-lyonl.fr
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maison
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Duclaux
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferber-Viart
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dubreuil
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015834:Cochlear Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics