The Maturation of Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials in Children with Normal Hearing and Hearing Impairment.

Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) are a non-invasive tool that can provide objective information on the functioning of the auditory pathways. As a result, there is increasing use of these measurements to support the early implantation of cochlear implants in children. However, the maturation of CAEPs in children who have received cochlear implants is still not well understood. This study investigated five children who received cochlear implants prior to 3.5 years of age and compared their CAEP waveforms to five normal-hearing children who were matched for age and five normal-hearing children who were matched for time-in-sound. In addition, a case study was completed, comparing an age-matched child who received hearing aids prior to 3.5 years of age to one of the children with cochlear implants. The latencies and amplitudes of the positive and negative peaks (P1, N1, P2, and N2) of the CAEP waveforms were measured and analysed using statistical techniques, including one-way repeated measures ANOVA. Our hypothesis was that children who received cochlear implants prior to 3.5 years of age would have CAEPs similar to their age-matched peers with normal hearing. Additionally, it was expected that the two matched children with hearing instruments would have CAEP waveforms that are similar. The measurements recorded demonstrated no conclusive results between the children with cochlear implants and either of the normal hearing groups. In the case study, the latencies and amplitudes of the child with a cochlear implant were similar to those of the child with hearing aids, supporting the second hypothesis. This study highlights the need for further research on a larger scale in order to more clearly determine the manner in which CAEP waveforms mature in children with cochlear implants