Acoustic Reflexes in Aural Atresia Patients: Evidence of an Intact Efferent System?

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Acoustic Reflexes in Aural Atresia Patients: Evidence of an Intact Efferent System? Via otol rhinol Related Articles Acoustic Reflexes in Aural Atresia Patients: Evidence of an Intact Efferent System? Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2021 Jan 24;:3489421990168 Authors: Casazza GC, Gray LC, Hildebrand D, Kesser BW Abstract OBJECTIVE: To record crossed acoustic reflex thresholds (xART's) postoperatively from patients after surgical repair of unilateral congenital aural atresia (CAA). To seek explanations for when xARTs can and cannot be recorded. We hope to understand the implications for this central auditory reflex despite early afferent deprivation. METHODS: Patients who underwent surgery to correct unilateral CAA at a tertiary academic medical were prospectively enrolled to evaluate for the presence of xART. Preoperative ARTs in the normal (non-atretic) ear, and postoperative ipsilateral ARTs (stimulus in the normal ear) and contralateral ARTs (stimulus in the newly reconstructed atretic ear; record in the normal ear) were measured at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. RESULTS: Four of 11 patients with normal ipsilateral reflex thresholds preoperatively demonstrated crossed acoustic reflexes postoperatively (stimulus in reconstructed ear; record from normal ear). Four other patients demonstrated normal ipsilateral thresholds preoperatively but did not have crossed reflexes postoperatively. No reflexes (pre- or postoperatively) could be recorded in 3 patients. Crossed reflex threshold is significantly correlated with the postoperative audiometric threshold. There was no correlation between ipsilateral and contralateral reflex thresholds. CONCLUSION: Crossed acoustic reflexes can be recorded from some but not all postoperative atresia patients, and the thresholds for those reflexes correlate with the postoperative pure tone threshold. The presence of acoustic reflexes implies an intact CN VIII-to-opposite CN VII central reflex arc despite early unilateral sound deprivation. PMID: 33491463 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.