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Brain auditory evoked potentials in children with Down syndrome.

Krecicki T, Zalesska-Krecicka M, Kubiak K, Gawron W

University of Wroclaw, Faculty of Medicine, ENT Department, Poland.

Researchers have been examining the condition of the auditory organ in people with Down syndrome for many years. The aim of this work was an objective evaluation of the hearing threshold and a functional evaluation of the hearing pathway in children with Down syndrome without any disturbances in the middle ear. MATERIAL: Seventy children with Down syndrome, aged from 2 months to 17 years. Brain auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) were performed. The peak latencies in children who had a normal BAEP pattern at 70 dB sHL were analysed. Peaks I-III and interpeak latencies I-III were significantly shortened in Down syndrome children up to the age of 1 year, as compared to older children with Down syndrome and to the control group. Peak III and interpeak latencies I-III were significantly longer in older children with Down syndrome in comparison to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Hearing loss in children with Down syndrome is more frequent than in healthy children. The average latency values of BAEP established for healthy children should not be used as a reference for children with Down syndrome. The shortening of the latency values in BAEP results of children with Down syndrome under 1 year of age may be connected with accelerated maturation of the nervous system or anatomical and/or functional disturbances of the central nervous system. BAEP is a valuable method that allows for the objective evaluation of the hearing threshold and functional condition of the hearing pathway in subjects who do not cooperate during testing.

Published 26 April 2005 in Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol, 69(5): 615-20.
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