![]() If you are the parent of a child affected by this form of hearing loss, you are likely wondering if the condition gets better. This might have been oxygen deprivation at birth, being of a low birth weight, having jaundice requiring blood transfusions, or being very premature. In other cases the child may have experienced health problems at or around birth, which had a negative impact on their hearing health. In some cases, auditory neuropathy may have a genetic component, as the problem does seem to run in families. The child may hear speech but it may not make sense, or there is a time lag – like a miming singer with poor lip sync. In practical terms, this means the sufferer hears noises, but can’t make total sense of them: a bit like listening to a poorly tuned radio set. The hearing impairment is of neurological origin, which simply means the nerve pathway form the ear to the brain is faulty. ![]() Auditory Neuropathy Information Homepage.Hearing Health Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder in ChildrenĪuditory neuropathy is a condition which causes hearing loss in people of all ages, but is most commonly diagnosed in children.Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (Kid’s Health).Auditory Neuropathy (Better Health Channel).In other situations, Cochlear Implants can also provide some benefit by bypassing the regions in the auditory system that are damaged. ![]() In some cases, particularly in children who have the neonatal form of AN, the fitting of Hearing Aids can help by making sound and speech more audible. These assessments are carried out routinely in babies, as part of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening programs, but are not standard in adult hearing tests. Treatmentsĭiagnosing AN can initially be challenging, as people with the condition can have perfectly normal detection of sound.Īs a result, tests that measure the function of the nerve and auditory pathways are required. Localisation skills, which is the ability to judge where sounds are coming from, may also be affected. Listening in background noise is particularly affected. Symptoms of Auditory Neuropathyĭisruption of the firing patterns in the hearing nerve makes the perception of complex signals, such as speech, difficult. Click on the play button below to hear the interview. ![]() He is an audiologist, a full-time researcher and teacher at the University of Melbourne’s Department of Audiology & Speech Pathology. Progressive forms of AN also exist, and these are often related to generalised neurologic diseases, such as Friedreich Ataxia and Charcot-Marie-tooth Disease, which affect a range of neural systems.Īssociate Professor Gary Rance provides a basic overview about AN in the interview below. Babies with breathing problems and/or severe jaundice are particularly at risk. The most common form of AN is present from birth and occurs as a result of trauma. This results in distortion of sound and listeners often report that they “can hear but can’t understand what is being said to them”. Neural (nerve) function can be affected in a number of ways, but the common outcome is a disruption of the timing of the electrical impulses. Auditory Neuropathy is a nerve-based hearing condition that can distort sounds.Īuditory Neuropathy (AN) – also known as Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD) – is a type of hearing problem that involves the electrical signal passing from the ear to the brain. ![]()
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