OBJECTIVE: Determine the frequency-specific thresholds of auditory steady state response (ASSR) of Filipino children with absent auditory brainstem response (click-ABR) results.METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study analyzing the frequency-specific thresholds of auditory steady state response (ASSR) of Filipino children with absent auditory brainstem response (click-ABR) results. The study population comprised of 99 pediatric patients referred for hearing assessment using electrophysiologic techniques at the Ear Unit of the Philippine General Hospital. The subjects underwent hearing threshold evaluation using both evoked-potential techniques (click ABR and ASSR) within a one-month period from January 2009 to March 2014. The ASSR results of patients with absent click-ABR were collected and analyzed.RESULTS: There were 99 patients who underwent both ABR and ASSR. Of the 65 patients with absent ABR thresholds results, 13 patients had unilateral absent ABR while 52 had bilateral absent ABR results. The data of hearing tests from the combined 117 ears with absent ABR hearing tests were collected. The proportion of children with ASSR thresholds with absent ABR per frequency were -500 Hz- 45/117 (38.5%); -1000 Hz- 76/117 (64.0%); -2000 Hz- 63/117 (53.8%); and -4000 Hz- 41/117 (35.0%). The proportion of children with ASSR thresholds with absent ABR per number of frequencies were: -4 frequencies- 19/117 (16.2%); -3 frequencies- 32/117 (27.4%); -2 frequencies- 22/117 (18.8%); and -1 frequency- 44/117 (37.6%)CONCLUSION: In the absence of click- ABR response, ASSR may provide information about the levels of severe to profound hearing loss among children. The criteria of selection of candidates for intervention (hearing aids or cochlear implantation) should include results from hearing evaluation not only from behavioral and ABR thresholds but also from ASSR thresholds. This may ensure that exclusion of some children with severe and profound hearing loss who may benefit from the intervention will be minimized.
Human ; Male ; Female ; deafness ; Audiometry, Evoked Response ; hearing ;

Background: The Philippine National Ear Institute (PNEI) was created to promote health of hearing and balance among Filipinos. Over the years, it has provided audiologic services to thousands of patients annually and has published relevant hearing and balance research. Objective: To describe the patients served by the PNEI in terms of age, region of origin, occupation, pretest diagnosis, and audiologic results. Methods: Study Design - Cross-sectional study Setting - National tertiary care center Population - All records of patients referred for audiologic testing at PNEI in 2006 were reviewed and encoded into analyzable format. Results: A total of 1,756 patients had audiologic records for review. Median age was 32.5 years, with the age distribution presented according to sex, type of tests done including common reasons for referral, and median threshold levels by frequency. Coverage was national in scope, with most patients coming from the National Capital Region and from Regions III and IVa. Occupation was indicated in 37.8 percent of the working age group, most of whom were unemployed. The most common pretest diagnosis was chronic otitis media (26.6 percent), followed by hearing loss of unknown etiology (13.0 percent) and tinnitus (9.3 percent). Severity of hearing impairment based on pure tone audiometry was variable, and was presented according to common diagnoses. About 39 percent of hearing impairment cases were sensorineural, 36 percent conductive and 25 percent due to mixed defect. Bilateral Type A ears were found in 45.4 percent of patients by tympanometry, while 29.3 percent were bilateral Type B. For otoacoustic emissions, 69.0 percent were labeled as "refer" in at least one ear. Conclusion: The PNEI is a major national referral center for audiology that holds much promise in developing programs for national surveillance of the hearing status of different sectors in Philippine society. (Author)
HEARING AUDIOLOGY ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE TESTS OTITIS MEDIA

Dear Editor, The tympanic membrane and the ossicular chain contribute roughly 28 dB in hearing gain. In chronic suppurative otitis media, loss of tympanic membrane and lysis of the ossicular chain are significant causes of hearing loss.1 Through the years, hearing impairment has been augmented using various devices such as ear trumpets, carbon hearing aids, vacuum tube and transistor hearing aids, bone anchored hearing aids, and cochlear implants.2 This case report describes how a cotton wick was used to amplify sound.
Human ; Male ; Hearing ; Hearing Loss