Auditory neuropathy: a report on three cases with early onsets and major neonatal illnesses

We report 3 children without any brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) neural component who all retained isolated cochlear microphonic potentials as well as click-evoked otoacoustic emissions. Two of them demonstrated only moderately impaired audiometric thresholds. These features correspond to a peculiar pattern of auditory dysfunction recently coined `auditory neuropathy'. In contrast with the published previous cases of auditory neuropathy presenting with an acquired hearing deficit as children or young adults, all 3 children had a history of major neonatal illness and the auditory neuropathy was already demonstrated in the first months of their lives.