PURPOSE: to highlight the possible relationships between mouth breathing and central auditory system of school-age children, based on an analysis of the auditory abilities of temporal resolution, binaural separation and integration, divided attention, auditory memory and closure. METHODS: a study of 102 school children, between 8 and 12-year old. Group I was composed of 52 children with mouth breathing and group II was composed of 50 children with nose breathing. The evaluation was carried out using Filtered Speech tests, Pitch Pattern Sequence and Alternating Staggered Spondaic Word. RESULTS: Subjects from Group I had higher frequency of severe and moderate alterations. A statistically significant difference occurred between the groups for the left and right competitive ear, changes related to organization and auditory integration, auditory closure abilities and temporal patterns. There was no statistically significant difference in the relationship among the tests. CONCLUSION: the performance on the tests for auditory processing was associated to the type of breathing.
Hearing; Auditory Perception; Mouth Breathing; Auditory Perceptual Disorder; Learning
