The role of the efferent auditory system in developmental dyslexia

Abstract Objective To assess the role of the efferent auditory system by inhibition of contralateral otoacoustic emission in dyslexic children with auditory processing disorders. Methods The study sample was 34 children: 17 with dyslexia and 17 age-matched controls. Sensitive speech tests (low-pass filtered, time-compressed, distorted and dichotic) were performed to assess coexisting auditory processing disorder. Distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) values were measured in basal condition and with contralateral broadband noise signal delivered via an earphone transducer at 60 dB SPL. Results The lower scores at sensitive speech testing confirmed the association of an auditory processing disorder in the dyslexic children. DPOAE values were significantly attenuated by contralateral inhibition only in the control group ( p  = 0.001; dyslexics, p  = 0.19); attenuation was not significant at any frequency in the dyslexic group. Conclusions The differences in DPOAE attenuation between the groups, although not statistically significant, suggest alterations in the auditory efferent system in the dyslexic population. These alterations may affect language perception. If confirmed in further studies with larger samples, these results could provide insight into a possible pathophysiological background of dyslexia.