Abstracts

Rationale: Central auditory processing disorder is a deficit in the processing of auditory information, despite normal hearing thresholds. It can be assessed by behavioral tests and auditory-evoked potentials (AEP) that together verify the integrity and functioning of the auditory system. Children with epilepsy may present epileptic activity around auditory and language areas, such as centrotemporoparietal and sylvian regions. This study evaluated central auditory processing abilities in school-age children with temporal lobe epilepsy and verified if the epileptic activity can impair auditory processing.Methods: We evaluated twenty five school-age children, age range 8:6 to 14:8 years. Nine children (seven were male) composed the epilepsy group and 16 normal children (eight were male) composed the control group. After neurological assessment, children underwent a peripheral audiological evaluation and behavioral auditory tests: dichotic digits test, gaps in noise test and duration pattern test. Results: We observed a statistically significant difference between children in the epilepsy group and control group with the worst performance for the epilepsy group in dichotic digits test, right ear (p=0.01), duration pattern test, right ear, humming (p=0.02), duration pattern test, left ear, naming (p=0.02) and gaps in noise, right ear (p=0.05), left ear (p<0.01) and P300, latency, right ear (p=0.02). Conclusions: Children with temporal lobe epilepsy can have abnormalities in central auditory processing information. Epileptic discharges around language and auditory areas may jeopardize the functioning of these areas leading to central auditory processing disorders.