Hearing Loss in Children Can Lead to Change in How Brain Processes Sound
A University of Cambridge study
has shown that even mild to moderate hearing loss can lead to lasting changes
in how sounds are processed in the brain. The report published in eLife pointed
out that the auditory system of children developing hearing loss makes a
functional reorganisation, repurposing itself to respond more to visual
stimuli.
The researchers Dr Lorna
Halliday of MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge used
an eletroencephalogram (EEG) technique to measure the brain responses of 46
children who had been diagnosed with permanent-to-moderate hearing loss during
childhood. Dividing the children into two groups -- younger children (8-12
years) and older children (12-16 years) -- the team found that the younger
children with hearing loss showed relatively typical brain responses -- in
other words, similar to those of children with normal hearing. However, the
brain responses of older children with hearing loss were smaller than those of
their normally hearing peers.
"Children with hearing
problems tend to do less well than their peers in terms of language development
and academic performance. Detecting even mild degrees of hearing impairment
earlier could lead to earlier intervention that would limit these brain
changes, and improve children's chances of developing normal language."
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