Prevalence of auditory neuropathy (AN) among infants and young children with severe to profound hearing loss

Auditory neuropathy is a challenging disorder and needs special habilitative/rehabilitative approach. This study aimed to detect its prevalence among infants and young children with severe to profound hearing loss. 112 infants and young children with age ranged 6-32 months were examined and diagnosed as having severe to profound hearing loss and were referred for hearing aid fitting. Those infants were reassessed in our centers for detecting cases with auditory neuropathy. The study group was subjected to immittancemetry, behavioral observation audiometry, ABR and cochlear microphonics. Results: 15 patients were found to have auditory neuropathy according to our criteria for diagnosis. Conclusions: The prevalence of AN in the study group was 13.4%. CM were recommended to be tested routinely during ABR assessment whenever abnormal results are obtained. © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.