Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the cortical auditory pathways in children with and without learning disability (LD).

MATERIALS and METHODS: A prospective, controlled clinical study was conducted on patients diagnosed with LD and was followed-up for a minimum period of 6 months in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry were included as study group. The control group comprised of age- and gender-matched healthy individuals. After otolaryngological and psychiatric examination, all participants were tested using pure-tone audiometry, tympanometry, acoustic reflex, and cortical auditory evoked potentials. Test results were evaluated and compared for each group.

RESULTS: The study included a total of 60 children (30 children with LD as study group and 30 healthy children as control group) who met the inclusion criteria. When event-related potentials were taken into consideration, P2 and P300 mean amplitudes for right ears and N1 and P300 mean amplitudes for left ears were significantly lower in study group than those in the control group. Likewise, P2 and P300 mean latency in right ears and P1, N1, and P300 mean latency in left ears were prolonged in study group (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Patients with LD may have disorders of the cortical auditory processing even if they have normal hearing screening tests. Pathologies in late-latency evoked potentials may have a role in the etiology of these patients.

Cite this article as: Mırıcı E, Ocak E, Bayrak S, Kocaöz D, Kankılıç ES, Dağlı E, et al. A Noteworthy Pathology in Children with Learning Disabilities: Late Latency Response Failure in Central Auditory Processing. J Int Adv Otol 2018; 14(3): 404-7.