Ear subunits correlation with ABR in microtia (Widodo & Zizlavsky, 2024)

Purpose: The association between microtia severity and hearing function has been thoroughly investigated. This study examined the relationship between microtia grade, number of ear subunits (i.e., helix, antihelix, scapha, triangularis fossa, concha, lobule, tragus, and antitragus) with auditory brainstem response (ABR) findings in children with microtia.Study Design: A retrospective chart review was employed in this study.Method: We analyzed the ABR test results and photographs of 22 children with 30 microtia ears at Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National Hospital, Jakarta. The ABR test results were acquired using click (air conduction only) and 500-Hz tone burst stimuli (air- and bone-conduction). Ear photographs were overlaid with a template of a normal ear to determine the number of ear subunits present and the subsequent microtia grade. Number of ear subunits and ABR results were analyzed using the chi-square, Mann–Whitney U, and Spearman’s correlation tests.Results: ABR thresholds for click and 500-Hz tone bursts air-conduction were significantly poorer for ears with a subunit < 5 compared to ears with a subunit ≥ 5. No significant difference was observed in 500 Hz bone-conduction ABR thresholds between these groups. Correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between increased ear subunits and click ABR thresholds. No significant correlation was found between ear subunits and 500-Hz air- and bone-conduction ABR thresholds.Conclusions: A higher number of ear subunits are associated with a lower hearing threshold, as assessed using ABR with click stimuli. Therefore, the number of ear subunits and microtia grades can be used to examine the hearing level thresholds in infants and children with microtia.Supplemental Material S1. Individual characteristics of infant and children with microtia.Widodo, D. W., & Zizlavsky, S. (2024). Correlation of grading and number of ear subunits with auditory brainstem response findings in children with microtia. American Journal of Audiology, 33(2), 503–509. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJA-23-00162

研究目的：微耳畸形严重程度与听力功能之间的关系已得到深入研究。本研究旨在探讨微耳畸形等级、耳部亚单位数量（即耳轮、对耳轮、舟状窝、三角窝、耳甲、耳垂、耳屏和对耳屏）与微耳畸形儿童听觉脑干反应（ABR）检查结果之间的关系。研究设计：本研究采用回顾性病历审查方法。研究方法：我们对印尼雅加达Cipto Mangunkusumo国立医院22名儿童30个微耳畸形耳的ABR测试结果和照片进行了分析。ABR测试结果通过点击（仅空气传导）和500Hz音爆刺激（空气和骨传导）获得。通过将耳部照片与正常耳模板叠加，确定存在的耳部亚单位数量及随后微耳畸形等级。耳部亚单位数量和ABR结果分别采用卡方检验、Mann-Whitney U检验和Spearman秩相关检验进行分析。研究结果：与耳部亚单位数量≥5的耳朵相比，耳部亚单位数量<5的耳朵的点击和500Hz音爆空气传导ABR阈值显著较差。两组之间在500Hz骨传导ABR阈值上无显著差异。相关性分析显示，耳部亚单位数量增加与点击ABR阈值之间存在显著的负相关。耳部亚单位数量与500Hz空气和骨传导ABR阈值之间未发现显著相关性。研究结论：耳部亚单位数量较多与较低的听力阈值相关，这一结论是通过点击刺激的ABR评估得出的。因此，耳部亚单位数量和微耳畸形等级可用于评估微耳畸形婴幼儿的听力水平阈值。补充材料S1：婴幼儿微耳畸形个体特征。Widodo, D. W. & Zizlavsky, S. (2024). 微耳畸形儿童耳部亚单位等级与听觉脑干反应检查结果的相关性研究。美国听力学杂志，33(2)，503–509。https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJA-23-00162