Auditory neuropathy - A case of auditory neuropathy after hyperbilirubinemia

Auditory neuropathy is an hearing disorder in which peripheral hearing is normal, but the eighth nerve and brainstem are abnormal. By clinical definition, patient with this disorder have normal OAE, but exhibit an absent or severely abnormal ABR. Auditory neuropathy was first reported in the late 1970s as different methods could identify discrepancy between absent ABR and present hearing threshold. Speech understanding difficulties are worse than can be predicted from other tests of hearing function. Auditory neuropathy may also affect vestibular function. Case Report: This article presents electrophysiological and behavioral data from a case of auditory neuropathy in a child with normal hearing after bilirubinemia in a 5 years follow-up. Audiological findings demonstrate remarkable changes after multidisciplinary rehabilitation. auditory neuropathy may involve damage to the inner hair cells-specialized sensory cells in the inner ear that transmit information about sound through the nervous system to the brain. Other causes may include faulty connections between the inner hair cells and the nerve leading from the inner ear to the brain or damage to the nerve itself. People with auditory neuropathy have OAEs response but absent ABR and hearing loss threshold that can be permanent, get worse or get better.