The Brazilian elderly population is growing, and already represents 8,6% of our total population. Environmental factors, lifestyle, gender and genetics impact the development of presbycusis, which reduces quality of life. Aim: investigate audiologic and vestibular complaints in the elderly; perform tonal audiometry and check to see if there are differences between genders. Study: Cross-sectional clinical prospective study. Materials and Methods: 320 elderly patients (160 men and 160 women) were submitted to audiologic interview and tonal audiometry. The results were statistically analyzed by the following methods: ANOVA, Mann-Whitney and Chi-Squared. Results: audiologic and vestibular complaints (hearing loss, tinnitus, ear fullness, dizziness) were similar between the genders (except for dizziness: p<0,05); tonal audiometry showed a significant difference, with hearing loss in the high frequencies among men; and among women the curves were descending and flat. These results were statistically significant (P<0,001). Conclusion: our results lead us to conclude that, when the genders are compared, hearing loss in the elderly has similar symptoms; however, there are significant differences in tonal audiometry.

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We studied 81 children, mostly boys, who experience d language acqui sition delay but whose audiometric thr esholds were norm al. We assessed the evo lution of children with delayed maturation ofauditory pa thways by brainstein evoked respo nse audiome try (BERA). We also used a questionnaire admin istered duri ng diagnostic p rocedu res to determin e if there was a probable etio logy in each pa tient. In addition, we f urthe r studied langua ge evo lution in 29 pati ents by means ofa second questionn aire that was administered approximately 2 years later. Finally, we studied the evo lution ofthe 1-Vinten vave interval and the IN amplitude ratio in 16 patients by p erformin g a second BERA aft er a mean inte rval of 3 years. We observed imp rov ement in both brainstem tran smission tim e and langua ge acqui siti on in all 81 patients. Ho wever, only a fe w patients achi eved normal rang e results. Morphologic alt erations, which were most common in patient s who had had p erinatal jaundice, remained unchange d. The most common p ossible risk factors for the delayed maturation pattern observed on BERA were parental consang uinity, prematurity, perinatal anoxia and j aundice, and postna tal se izure and infection. Som e patients had more than one ofthese p ossible risk f actors. We conclude that high-risk newborn s and 2-year-old children who ha ve no primitive verba l langua ge skills sho uld undergo BERA as well as in vestigation ofhearing thresholds, int en vave intervals, and IN amplitude ratios.

A síndrome de West é um tipo de espasmo infantil caracterizado por encefalopatia epiléptica associado a espasmos em flexão e deficiência mental de instalação no primeiro ano de vida e de etiologia incerta. Acredita-se ser determinada por diferentes fatores etiológicos como infeção intrauterina, esclerose tuberosa, asfixia perinatal ou afecções pós-natais. Forma de Estudo: Observacional coorte com corte transversal. Material e Metódo: No presente estudo dez pacientes com Síndrome de West foram submetidos ao exame de Potencial Evocado de Tronco Cerebral (BERA) para avaliar o envolvimento do tronco cerebral e das vias auditivas a este nível. Resultado: Os achados anormais ao BERA incluem alteração na morfologia das curvas com reprodutibilidade apenas de onda I e II, (caso 7), aumento do intervalo interpico da onda I-V (casos 1, 2 e 9), aumento da proporção de amplitude da onda I/V (caso 8) e alteração do limiar eletrofisiológico (caso 7). Tais achados ao BERA sugerem que a disfunção do sistema nervoso resulte principalmente da hipogênese ou degeneração das células nervosas, em parte como resultado da dismielinização. Conclusão: Os autores recomendam o uso de estudos eletrofisiológi-cos para avaliar a disfunção do sistema nervoso central no paciente com suspeita de espasmo infantil.