PURPOSE: To verify the performance of children born preterm on auditory processing evaluation, and to correlate the data with behavioral hearing assessment carried out at 12 months of age, comparing the results to those of auditory processing evaluation of children born full-term. METHODS: Participants were 30 children with ages between 4 and 7 years, who were divided into two groups: Group 1 (children born preterm), and Group 2 (children born full-term). The auditory processing results of Group 1 were correlated to data obtained from the behavioral auditory evaluation carried out at 12 months of age. The results were compared between groups. RESULTS: Subjects in Group 1 presented at least one risk indicator for hearing loss at birth. In the behavioral auditory assessment carried out at 12 months of age, 38% of the children in Group 1 were at risk for central auditory processing deficits, and 93.75% presented auditory processing deficits on the evaluation. Significant differences were found between the groups for the temporal order test, the PSI test with ipsilateral competitive message, and the speech-in-noise test. The delay in sound localization ability was associated to temporal processing deficits. CONCLUSION: Children born preterm have worse performance in auditory processing evaluation than children born full-term. Delay in sound localization at 12 months is associated to deficits on the physiological mechanism of temporal processing in the auditory processing evaluation carried out between 4 and 7 years.
Hearing tests; Speech perception; Auditory perception; Term birth; Infant; premature
