19th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 8-10, 2020 • Kansas City, MO
Auditory Brainstem Responses In Infant Macaques: Effects Of In Utero Transmission Of Zika Virus (Zikv) On Hearing Thresholds Over The First Year Of Life
There have been over 700 reported cases of Zika Virus (ZIKV) throughout US territories (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Infants who are infected with ZIKV before birth via transmission in utero may consequently have several identified birth defects (Leah, et al, 2016). Evidence of causality between the ZIKV infection and fetal abnormities have been found, including microcephaly and other severe central nervous system malformations. ZIKV infection is also linked to other abnormalities, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, and other birth defects (Leah, et al, 2016). Other pathologies and syndromes are still in question, including a link between transmission of the virus and childhood hearing loss. The data available to date do not confirm the causal association between hearing loss and the virus infection, nor rule out progressive hearing impairment. Research resulting from animal models may provide answers to these yet unanswered questions and help understand the severity and progression of hearing loss associated with this infection. In this study, eight rhesus macaques, who were exposed to ZIKV in utero, were monitored using auditory brainstem response testing completed at 0-3 months, 6 months and one year of age. Previous research has shown that Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) testing is a reliable and valid measurement to use in testing hearing sensitivity in macaque monkeys and can be translatable to the human population (Fowler, et. al.). Monitoring these responses, as a correlation to hearing sensitivity over a period of time, can help determine the consequences of ZIKV on the auditory system. Having a greater understanding of the association between ZIKV and the potential deficiency in hearing sensitivity can lead to improved future interventions and testing protocols.
- Participants will be able to explain how ABR testing can be used to test hearing in a non-human primate model.
- Participants will be able to analyze the potential consequences ZIKV has on hearing sensitivity in infants over the first year of life
- Participants will be able to identify the importance of early identification and intervention for children exposed to ZIKV in utero.
Poster:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.
Presenter: Amy Hartman
Amy Hartman is the director of clinical education and clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She provides clinical education for Au.D. students and teaches several courses including counseling for audiologists and pediatric audiology. Her clinical passion is working with children with hearing loss, particularly audiologic assessments of infants and children, and central auditory processing evaluations. Dr. Hartman is a consultant with the UW Madison LEND program. She is actively involved in local, state, regional and national initiatives to promote hearing healthcare for children and adults. She has been involved in multiple student research projects focusing on early hearing detection and intervention. She has traveled internationally to provide audiology services to underserved children. She is involved in many outreach activities including out of hospital clinics for the Amish and Mennonite populations in Wisconsin and hosting a dramatic play summer camp for children with hearing loss.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Mallory Schroeder is currently a third-year Doctoral Audiology student and LEND graduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She graduated with her Bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in May 2017 with a major in Communication Sciences & Disorders. Her clinical passions include working with children of varying abilities and electrophysiology assessments of infants and children. She is actively involved in community outreach, healthcare policy and international audiology services.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.