Occasional finding of neurological disorders during children hearing loss evaluation using the ABR

SummaryOne of the most important applications of the Brainstem evoked response audiometry (ABR) is in the evaluation of hearing loss in children. Today the ABR is also indicated in the screening of cochleo-vestibular syndromes to detect retrocochlear lesions, to monitor patients in a coma (brain death), in monitoring the brainstem during skull base surgery, etc. Among the many BERA qualities, is its capacity to evaluate the neurophysiologic integrity of the auditory brainstem pathway. In doing so, sometimes while evaluating hearing function in children we are faced with ABR waves that suggest the presence of retrocochlear lesions (trace asymmetry, increased interpeak intervals), many times confirmed through image studies. These cases are seen as occasional findings of neurologic disorders during children hearing loss evaluation. In this study we report 2 cases of neurologic disorders diagnosed with the use of the ABR to evaluate hearing loss in children.