Infant Audiological Evaluation: Visual Reinforcement Audiometry with speech stimulus

• Grant number: 12/24810-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2013
• End date: March 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Speech Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Orozimbo Alves Costa Filho
• Grantee: Maria Jaquelini Dias dos Santos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru (FOB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA) is one of audiological tests with higher accuracy in detecting hearing loss indicated for children with 6 to 24 months. Several studies show the directions, restrictions and adaptations of the technique to get reliable answers from children auditory system. Studies about how the auditory system responds to speech stimuli or another complex stimulus, with a wide range of frequencies, presented faster answers in a lower intensity. Some theories propose that the speech perception occur differently to other sounds. A special route for decoding speech, with distinctions from the detection of the acoustic spectrum, nonlinear depolarization of auditory nerve fibers, and the existence of specialized neurons to interpreting speech sounds in the auditory cortex. Could this specific speech perception skill, a factor that would alter the responses of children aged 6 to 18 months, assessed by VRA? The speech stimuli could act as a stimulus to test for minimum levels of response (MLR) considering the main aspects that guide the evaluation: the decibel intensity would be lower than for warble stimulus? Attention to perform the test would be the same, or would be less compromised when using speech stimulus? Faced with these questions, determined to carry out a comparative study of VRA with stimulus warble, as used in this test frequencies 500Hz, 1kHz, 2kHz, 4kHz, and speech stimuli. The Ling sounds were chosen by the universal characteristics, they cover many frequencies of speech, and extensive application in various hearing tests. This study will compare the use of the Ling Sounds for the NMR in ARV-Ling in children with hearing loss with the results of ARV-warble.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

SANTOS, Maria Jaquelini Dias dos. Pediatric hearing evaluation: visual reinforcement audiometry with speech sounds. 2016. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru (FOB/SDB) Bauru.