Changes in cortical auditory evoked potentials in response to auditory training in elderly hearing aid users

Objective To compare the cortical auditory evoked potential responses pre-and post-Auditory Musical Training associated with hearing aid adaptation in elderly people with presbycusis. Design: this is a prospective, randomized, single-blind study. Study Sample: eight presbiacusis elderly people between 65 and 80 years, new hearing aid users, divided into two groups participated in the study: Hearing Aid Group: use of hearing aid; and Auditory Training Group: use of hearing aid in addition to musical auditory training for 16 sessions. All participants were submitted to cortical auditory evoked potential tests with verbal stimulation in two different moments: Initial assessment, carried out before hearing aid adaptation and auditory training, and after three months, final assessment at the end of the auditory training sessions. All participants were adapted bilaterally with digital mini hearing aids. Results: There was a decrease in the P3a latency component for the Auditory Training Group when initial and final assessment were compared. Conclusion: There was a change in the CAEP in elderly people with presbycusis in response to the Musical Auditory Training associated with the use of hearing aids in elderly people with presbycusis.

Early exposure to environmental sounds and the development of cortical auditory evoked potentials of preterm infants during the first three months of life

Objective: Preterm infants are exposed earlier than their term counterparts to unattenuated sounds from the external environment during the sensitive period of the organization of the auditory cortical circuitry. In the current study, we investigate the effect of preterm birth on the course of development of auditory cortical areas by evaluating how gestational age (GA) correlates with the latency of the P1 component of the cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) of two experimental groups measured at one or three months of age. Results: Our sample consisted of 23 infants delivered at GA ranging from 31.28-41.42 weeks and separated into two groups evaluated transversally at one or three months of corrected age (CA). In the group evaluated at one-month CA, the latency of the component P1 was similar in both terms and infants classified as late-preterm (GA>32 weeks). However, in the group evaluated at three months CA, P1 latency was significantly smaller in preterms. These preliminary results suggest an acceleration of the development of auditory cortical pathways in preterms, probably due to their early exposure to socially relevant auditory stimuli from the external environment.