ABSTRACT
We report two patients with pure word deafness (PWD) with tumour in the III ventricle region with obstructive hydrocephalus. A diagnosis of PWD was made in these two patients in view of impaired verbal comprehension in the presence of adequate hearing, intact acoustic stapedius reflex and well preserved environmental sound perception. Return of verbal comprehension following the radiation therapy observed is probably due to the reduction of the tumour mass and the release of thalamocortical auditory pathways from its compressive effect. Our findings support the hypothesis of the presence of discrete auditory pathways for mediation of verbal and non-verbal stimuli independently.
Subject(s)
Agnosia/diagnosis , Agnosia/etiology , Cerebral Ventricle Neoplasms/complications , Ependymoma/complications , Germinoma/complications , Third Ventricle , Adult , Agnosia/pathology , Audiometry , Biopsy , Cerebral Ventricle Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Cerebral Ventricle Neoplasms/surgery , Deafness/diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Ependymoma/radiotherapy , Ependymoma/surgery , Germinoma/radiotherapy , Germinoma/surgery , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Remission Induction , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To report audiological and neuroradiological findings in patients with primary auditory neuropathy (PAN) from a tertiary institution in south India. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The auditory profiles in 24 patients were analyzed along with neurological and radiological findings. RESULTS: Puretone audiometry showed varied hearing acuity and configuration. The syllable recognition score (n=15) was above 80% except in three. The dichotic digit test (n=11) showed bilateral suppression except in two who showed unilateral suppression. The auditory brainstem responses and the acoustic stapedius reflex were absent with distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) present in all. The neurological and radiological studies were normal. CONCLUSION: The audiological profile is consistent with the presence of DPOAE and absence of acoustic stapedius reflex and auditory brainstem responses. In patients with adequately preserved syllable recognition in quiet conditions, there was a significantly poor performance on dichotic digit test. As these patients had no neurological deficits and absence of specific etiological factors, we propose to use the term PAN for this entity.