Auditory temporal processinzg in children with history of recurrent otitis media with effusion

Abstract

Objective

Several studies report that a history of recurrent otitis media with effusion (OME) can affect the development of the central auditory system and its processing. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of recurrent OME on the auditory temporal processing using the Gap-In-Noise (GIN) test in children with a positive history in their first five years.

Materials and methods

In this study, 12 children between 8 and 10 years old were selected. The control group was matched according to the age of study cohort. The GIN test was conducted to assess temporal processing and the approximate threshold and percentage of correct responses were calculated for all participants. Nonparametric test was used to analyze the data.

Result

Results of the GIN test showed significant differences between the OME and control group (p < .001). Children with recurrent OME performed worse than the control group in this test. No significant difference was observed between the right and left ear performance in both groups (p > .05).

Conclusion

The study results indicate that, children with recurrent OME suffer from auditory temporal processing to some degree.

Keywords:

• Hearing
• central auditory system
• temporal processing
• children
• otitis media with effusion

Acknowledgement

This study was not sponsored by any organization or institute.

Ethical approval

All stages of this study were conducted with informed consent of the participants and under the rules of the Ethics Committee of the Hamedan University Medical Sciences.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).