Long-term Effects of Unilateral and Bilateral Otitis Media and Myringotomy on Long-Latency Verbal and Non-Verbal Auditory-Evoked Potentials

Introduction Otitis media (OM) is considered one of the most common reasons patients seek medical care in childhood. The fluctuating nature of hearing loss in cases of OM leads to irregular sound stimulation of the central auditory nervous system. Objectives To analyze the long-latency auditory-evoked potential (LLAEP) by verbal and nonverbal sounds in children with a history of OM in the first six years of life. Methods A total of 106 schoolchildren participated in the study, 55 females and 51 males, aged between 8 and 16 years, who were divided into 3 groups: the control group (CG), the bilateral experimental group (BEG), and the unilateral experimental group (UEG). All children underwent a complete audiological evaluation (audiometry, logoaudiometry and immitance testing) and an electrophysiological evaluation (LLAEP with toneburst stimulus – LLAEP-TB, and LLAEP with speech stimulus – LLAEP-S). Results Both study groups (BEG and UEG) presented a statistically lower performance ( p < 0.005) when compared with the CG regarding all of the electrophysiological tests with the prolongation of the latency values and decrease in the amplitude values: LLAEP-TB (BEG: latency - N1, P2, N2 [females] and P300, amplitude - N1 and P2), LLAEP-S (BEG: latency - P2 and N2 [females], amplitude - P2 /UEG: latency - P2 and P300, amplitude: N1 and P2). Conclusion Children who had suffered secretory OM in the first six years of life and who had undergone myringotomy for the placement of a ventilation tube, either unilaterally or bilaterally, presented worse performance in their electrophysiological responses to verbal and nonverbal LLAEPs.