Audiological Findings and Aided Performance in Individuals with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD) – A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background:There is controversy in the literature regarding the utility of amplification in individuals with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD). Most of the studies regarding the effect of amplification on speech perception in ANSD have been carried out on children. Only a few investigations have studied this aspect in late onset ANSD. The majority of these studies report no aided improvement, with only a few reporting minimal benefit. Further, none of the studies in late onset ANSD evaluated the relation between audiological test results and aided improvement.Aim:The study aimed to investigate the effect of amplification on speech identification scores (SISs) in individuals with late onset ANSD. It also determined a relation between audiological test results and aided improvement.Method:The retrospective study was carried out by reviewing the clinical records of 64 patients with late onset ANSD.Results:Improvement in speech identification with hearing aids was observed in 30% of the ears evaluated. Correlation analysis revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between SISs obtained under headphones and aided performance. However, no relation was found between the degree of hearing loss and the aided performance or on the unaided sound field SIS.Conclusions:Unlike earlier studies, it was found that individuals with late onset ANSD did show improvement in speech perception when using hearing aids. The SIS under headphones was a major indicator of aided performance in adults with late onset ANSD.