Auditory profile and high resolution CT scan in autism spectrum disorders children with auditory hypersensitivity

Abstract

Autism is the third most common developmental disorder, following mental retardationand cerebral palsy. ASD children have been described more often as beingpreoccupied with or agitated by noise. The aim of this study was to evaluate theprevalence and clinical significance of semicircular canal dehiscence detected on CTimages in ASD children with intolerance to loud sounds in an attempt to find ananatomical correlate with hyperacusis.14 ASD children with auditory hypersensitivity and 15 ASD children without auditoryhypersensitivity as control group age and gender matched were submitted to historytaking, otological examination, tympanometry and acoustic reflex thresholdmeasurement. ABR was done to validate normal peripheral hearing and integrity ofauditory brain stem pathway. High resolution CT scan petrous and temporal boneimaging was performed to all participated children. All participants had normal hearingsensitivity in ABR testing. Absolute ABR peak waves of I and III showed no statisticallysignificant difference between the two groups, while absolute wave V peak andinterpeak latencies I-V and III-V were shorter in duration in study group whencompared to the control group. CT scans revealed SSCD in 4 out of 14 of the studygroup (29%), the dehiscence was bilateral in one patient and unilateral in threepatients. None of control group showed SSCD. In conclusion, we have reportedevidence that apparent hypersensitivity to auditory stimuli (short conduction time in ABR) despite the normal physiological measures in ASD children with auditoryhypersensitivity can provide a clinical clue of a possible SSCD.

Autism spectrum disorders and the amplitude of auditory brainstem response wave I

“…Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are the third most common developmental disorder, after mental retardation and cerebral palsy [Thabet & Zaghloul, ]. ASDs include autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, Asperger syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD‐NOS) or atypical autism; ASDs are typically diagnosed between 2 and 4 years of age [Chin, Moran, & Fenton, ].…”

“…A variety of factors have been reported to increase ASD risk, including genetics, perinatal events and environmental exposures, neuroanatomical differences, and neurotransmitter level abnormalities [Johnson & Myers, ]. The precise etiology of ASDs remains unknown [Thabet & Zaghloul, ]. Nevertheless, scientific interest in ASDs is growing, focused predominantly on the underlying etiology of and possible interventions for ASDs.…”

Click‐evoked auditory brainstem responses and autism spectrum disorder: A meta‐analytic review

“…Relatedly, links between ABR findings and ASD symptom dimensions (e.g., sensory hyper-/hyposensitivity; social communication deficits; restricted/ repetitive behaviors) are scarce. However, emerging evidence suggests that ASD with hyperacusis may be associated with faster ABR latencies relative to both TD counterparts and ASD children without hyperacusis [Dabbous, 2012;Thabet & Zaghloul, 2013]. For language, studies employing more complex auditory brainstem processing protocols (e.g., speech probes; forward masking) have observed concurrent and prospective links with receptive language functioning [Russo, Nicol et al, 2009;Chonchaiya, Tardif et al, 2013], a process that is disturbed in a subset of children with ASD.…”

Autism spectrum disorder traits inSlc9a9knock‐out mice

“…It will also be interesting to study other ASD associated symptoms in Slc9a9 KO mice, including sleep disruption, gastrointestinal disturbances, mental retardation, hypersensitivity to auditory and visual stimuli, impaired disengagement of attention, and abnormal brain volumes [Stanfield et al, 2008;Taylor et al, 2012;Carbone, 2013;Clery et al, 2013;Keehn et al, 2013;Thabet and Zaghloul, 2013;Anderson, 2014].…”