[Neurosensory hearing loss in children with acute and chronic otitis media diagnosed by the measurement of short-latency auditory evoked potentials].

The sensory component of acute otitis media, especially in children, has been poorly studied. In order to identify the importance of ERA for the diagnosis of the neurosensory component of hypoacusis associated with acute otitis media, we examined 56 children. In all the patients ERA were recorded, and in children over 3 years old tonal audiometry was performed. Comparison of ERA and audiographic data showed that in some cases ERA was helpful to reveal the sensory component of impaired hearing which was not seen audiographically. This allowed detection of preclinical stages of perceptive disorders. It is concluded that in young children (younger than 3 years) ERA can help to measure the level of conductive hearing impairment as well as to detect inflammatory changes in the inner ear structures.