Does the Efferent Auditory System Have a Role in Children with Specific Learning Disabilities?

Objective: This study aimed to compare the baseline transient otoacoustic emission (t-OAE) amplitudes and medial olivo-cochlear (MOC) efferent activity in children with specific learning disability (SLD) and children with normal development.Methods: The study was conducted in two groups. The patient group included 30 children aged 6 to 10 years and diagnosed with SLD, and the control group included 30 children in the same age range without SLD. The patient group included eight males and 22 females, and the control group included 14 females and 16 males. t-OAE and contralateral suppression test were performed in both groups.Results: In the first t-OAE measurements, a statistically significant difference was observed between the patient and the control group at frequencies of 1400, 2000, 2800, and 4000 Hz, but no such difference was observed at 1000 Hz frequency. In the control group, significantly better emission amplitudes were observed. No differences were found at any frequency between the patient and the control groups after suppression. When the subjects in the two groups were compared among themselves, there was a statistically significant difference between the before and after suppression scores in the patient group except at 4000 Hz. Likewise, an important difference was also observed in all frequencies in the control group.Conclusion: This study shows that suppression effects of t-OAE on children diagnosed with SLD and children with no SDL are not significantly different

How much are the incidental abnormalities on brain MRI clinically significant in otolaryngology practice?

Objective: We aimed to investigate the frequency of incidental diagnosis of paranasal sinus and mastoid abnormalities on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and its correlation with symptoms of patients. Methods: We examined 100 patients who underwent brain MRI due to several different complaints other than sinusitis and mastoiditis. The patients who had any nasal or otologic pathology in otolaryngology examination were excluded from the study. Afterwards, a total of 65 patients were included into the study. The questionnaire consisted of otological symptoms and Sino-nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20), Lund and Mackay scoring system for rhinosinusitis were filled by all patients immediately prior to imaging. The analysis of the MRI scan in terms of rhinosinusitis according to the Lund-Mackay radiological scoring and mastoiditis was performed by the same radiologist. Results: The mean age of 65 patients was 46.62 +/- 17.73 years. Eighteen (27.7%) of these were men and 47 (72.3%) were women. In 26 (40%) of 65 patients, MRI demonstrated mastoiditis. We could not find any statistically significant correlation between mastoiditis and upper respiratory tract infection (p=0.896). There was no statistically significant relationship between radiological scores and total sinus symptom scores (p=0.93). Additionally, we could not find any correlation between radiological scores and SNOT-20 (p=0.923). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that although some of these patients had various symptoms of sinus or mastoid diseases, these symptoms had no statistically significant correlation with the radiological diagnosis. In conclusion, radiologists should advise clinical correlation of their radiologic findings rather than reporting a clinical diagnosis such as sinusitis and mastoiditis