FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / J Vet Intern Med / Brainstem auditory evoked responses in an equine patient pop...
Journal of veterinary internal medicine2014; 28(4); 1310-1317; doi: 10.1111/jvim.12379

Brainstem auditory evoked responses in an equine patient population: part I–adult horses.

Abstract: Brainstem auditory evoked response has been an underused diagnostic modality in horses as evidenced by few reports on the subject. Objective: To describe BAER findings, common clinical signs, and causes of hearing loss in adult horses. Methods: Study group, 76 horses; control group, 8 horses. Methods: Retrospective. BAER records from the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory were reviewed from the years of 1982 to 2013. Peak latencies, amplitudes, and interpeak intervals were measured when visible. Horses were grouped under disease categories. Descriptive statistics and a posthoc Bonferroni test were performed. Results: Fifty-seven of 76 horses had BAER deficits. There was no breed or sex predisposition, with the exception of American Paint horses diagnosed with congenital sensorineural deafness. Eighty-six percent (n = 49/57) of the horses were younger than 16 years of age. The most common causes of BAER abnormalities were temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (THO, n = 20/20; abnormalities/total), congenital sensorineural deafness in Paint horses (17/17), multifocal brain disease (13/16), and otitis media/interna (4/4). Auditory loss was bilateral and unilateral in 74% (n = 42/57) and 26% (n = 15/57) of the horses, respectively. The most common causes of bilateral auditory loss were sensorineural deafness, THO, and multifocal brain disease whereas THO and otitis were the most common causes of unilateral deficits. Conclusions: Auditory deficits should be investigated in horses with altered behavior, THO, multifocal brain disease, otitis, and in horses with certain coat and eye color patterns. BAER testing is an objective and noninvasive diagnostic modality to assess auditory function in horses.
Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2014-06-05 PubMed ID: 24902479PubMed Central: PMC4857955DOI: 10.1111/jvim.12379Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research investigates Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) in horses. The study analyses BAER records from adult horses to determine common clinical signs and causes of hearing loss, recommending BAER as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for assessing auditory function.

Study Design and Methodology

  • This was a retrospective study where BAER records from the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory were reviewed. These records, spanning from 1982 to 2013, served as the dataset for the study.
  • A total of 76 horses were included in the study group, with an additional 8 horses serving as the control group. These horses were grouped under different disease categories for the analysis.
  • The researchers observed and measured peak latencies, amplitudes, and interpeak intervals of the BAER wherever possible.
  • Descriptive statistics were employed for analysis, and a posthoc Bonferroni test was performed to verify the findings.

Results

  • Among the 76 horses in the study, 57 showed BAER deficits. Interestingly, the study did not find any breed or sex predisposition associated with these deficits, except in the case of American Paint horses which were diagnosed with congenital sensorineural deafness.
  • Most of the horses with BAER abnormalities, specifically, 86% (49 out of 57), were less than 16 years of age.
  • The most common causes of BAER abnormalities were found to be temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (100% of THO cases), congenital sensorineural deafness in Paint horses (100% of such cases), multifocal brain disease (81.25% of such cases), and otitis media/interna (100% of such cases).
  • Auditory loss, a common result of BAER abnormalities, was found to be bilateral (both ears) in 74% of the concerned horses, and unilateral (one ear) in 26%. Sensorineural deafness, THO, and multifocal brain disease were the most common causes for bilateral auditory loss, while THO and otitis were the major causes of unilateral deficits.

Conclusions

  • The findings suggested that auditory deficits should be examined in horses displaying altered behavior, those with THO, multifocal brain disease, and otitis, as well as horses showing certain specific coat and eye color patterns.
  • More importantly, the study advocated for BAER testing as a reliable, objective, and noninvasive diagnostic modality for assessing auditory function in horses. The researchers concluded that such testing has been underutilized in equine diagnosis so far, given the sparse reports available on the subject.

Cite This Article

APA
Aleman M, Holliday TA, Nieto JE, Williams DC. (2014). Brainstem auditory evoked responses in an equine patient population: part I–adult horses. J Vet Intern Med, 28(4), 1310-1317. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.12379

Publication

Journal of veterinary internal medicine
ISSN: 1939-1676
NlmUniqueID: 8708660
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 28
Issue: 4
Pages: 1310-1317

Researcher Affiliations

Aleman, M
  • Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA.
Holliday, T A
    Nieto, J E
      Williams, D C

        MeSH Terms

        • Animals
        • Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / physiology
        • Female
        • Hearing Loss / physiopathology
        • Hearing Loss / veterinary
        • Horse Diseases / physiopathology
        • Horses / physiology
        • Male
        • Retrospective Studies

        References

        This article includes 29 references
        1. Delauche AJ. Brain-stem evoked responses as a diagnostic tool for deafness; a neurophysiological test with potential?. Br Vet J 1996 Jan;152(1):13-5.
          pubmed: 8634861doi: 10.1016/s0007-1935(96)80082-0google scholar: lookup
        2. Holliday TA, Te Selle ME. Brain stem auditory-evoked potentials of dogs: wave forms and effects of recording electrode positions.. Am J Vet Res 1985 Apr;46(4):845-51.
          pubmed: 4014834
        3. Rolf SL, Reed SM, Melnick W, Andrews FM. Auditory brain stem response testing in anesthetized horses.. Am J Vet Res 1987 Jun;48(6):910-4.
          pubmed: 3605806
        4. Marshall AE. Brain stem auditory-evoked response in the nonanesthetized horse and pony.. Am J Vet Res 1985 Jul;46(7):1445-50.
          pubmed: 4026024
        5. Mayhew IG, Washbourne JR. Short latency auditory evoked potentials recorded from non-anaesthetized thoroughbred horses.. Br Vet J 1992 Jul-Aug;148(4):315-27.
          pubmed: 1498644doi: 10.1016/0007-1935(92)90084-egoogle scholar: lookup
        6. Steiss JE, Bredemuehl JP, Wright JC. Nerve conduction velocities and brain stem auditory evoked responses in normal neonatal foals, compared to foals exposed to endophyte‐infected fescue in utero. Prog Vet Neurol 1991;2:252–260.
        7. Aleman M, Puchalski SM, Williams DC, Kass PH, Holliday TA. Brainstem auditory-evoked responses in horses with temporohyoid osteoarthropathy.. J Vet Intern Med 2008 Sep-Oct;22(5):1196-202.
          pubmed: 18681921doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2008.0158.xgoogle scholar: lookup
        8. Mayhew IG. The clinical utility of brainstem auditory evoked response testing in horses. Equine Vet Educ 2003;15:27–33.
        9. Spehlmann R. The Abnormal BAEP. Evoked Potential Primer. Stoneham, MA: Butterworth Publishers, 1985:217–235.
        10. Bedenice D, Hoffman AM, Parrott B, McDonnel J. Vestibular signs associated with suspected lightning strike in two horses.. Vet Rec 2001 Oct 27;149(17):519-22.
          pubmed: 11708637doi: 10.1136/vr.149.17.519google scholar: lookup
        11. Dacre KJP, Pirie S, Prince DP. Choke, pleuropneumonia and suspected gentamicin vestibulotoxicity in a horse. Equine Vet Educ 2003;15:27–33.
        12. Magdesian KG, Williams DC, Aleman M, Lecouteur RA, Madigan JE. Evaluation of deafness in American Paint Horses by phenotype, brainstem auditory-evoked responses, and endothelin receptor B genotype.. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2009 Nov 15;235(10):1204-11.
          pubmed: 19912043doi: 10.2460/javma.235.10.1204google scholar: lookup
        13. Marshall AE, Byars TD, Whitlock RH, George LW. Brainstem auditory evoked response in the diagnosis of inner ear injury in the horse.. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1981 Feb 1;178(3):282-6.
          pubmed: 6971862
        14. Wilson WJ, Mills PC, Dzulkarnain AA. Use of BAER to identify loss of auditory function in older horses.. Aust Vet J 2011 Mar;89(3):73-6.
          pubmed: 21323652doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2010.00682.xgoogle scholar: lookup
        15. Harland MM, Stewart AJ, Marshall AE, Belknap EB. Diagnosis of deafness in a horse by brainstem auditory evoked potential.. Can Vet J 2006 Feb;47(2):151-4.
          pmc: PMC1345730pubmed: 16579041
        16. Mayhew IG, Washbourne JR. A method of assessing auditory and brainstem function in horses.. Br Vet J 1990 Nov-Dec;146(6):509-18.
          pubmed: 2271908doi: 10.1016/0007-1935(90)90054-7google scholar: lookup
        17. Mayhew IG, Preston SE, Hannant D, Washbourne JR, Johnson CB, Phillips TJ. Spontaneous otoacoustic emission in a pony.. Vet Rec 1995 Apr 22;136(16):419.
          pubmed: 7625060doi: 10.1136/vr.136.16.419google scholar: lookup
        18. Magdesian KG, Madigan JE, Williams DC. Deafness of suspected congenital origin in American Paint Horses. J Vet Intern Med 1998;12:208.
        19. Gericota B, Aleman M, Kozikowski TA, Pesavento P, Bollen AW, Madigan JE, Higgins RJ. A grade IV glioblastoma with an oligodendroglial component (GBM-O) in a horse.. J Comp Pathol 2010 May;142(4):332-5.
          pubmed: 19897210doi: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2009.09.007google scholar: lookup
        20. Nostrandt AC, Pedersoli WM, Marshall AE, Ravis WR, Robertson BT. Ototoxic potential of gentamicin in ponies.. Am J Vet Res 1991 Mar;52(3):494-8.
          pubmed: 2035927
        21. Steiss JE, Cox NR, Hathcock JT. Brain stem auditory-evoked response abnormalities in 14 dogs with confirmed central nervous system lesions.. J Vet Intern Med 1994 Jul-Aug;8(4):293-8.
          pubmed: 7983627doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.1994.tb03236.xgoogle scholar: lookup
        22. Markand ON, Farlow MR, Stevens JC, Edwards MK. Brain-stem auditory evoked potential abnormalities with unilateral brain-stem lesions demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging.. Arch Neurol 1989 Mar;46(3):295-9.
          pubmed: 2919985doi: 10.1001/archneur.1989.00520390061017google scholar: lookup
        23. Price ER, Fisher DE. Sensorineural deafness and pigmentation genes: melanocytes and the Mitf transcriptional network.. Neuron 2001 Apr;30(1):15-8.
          pubmed: 11343641doi: 10.1016/s0896-6273(01)00259-8google scholar: lookup
        24. Ahveninen J, Kopčo N, Jääskeläinen IP. Psychophysics and neuronal bases of sound localization in humans.. Hear Res 2014 Jan;307:86-97.
          pmc: PMC3858499pubmed: 23886698doi: 10.1016/j.heares.2013.07.008google scholar: lookup
        25. Metallinos DL, Bowling AT, Rine J. A missense mutation in the endothelin-B receptor gene is associated with Lethal White Foal Syndrome: an equine version of Hirschsprung disease.. Mamm Genome 1998 Jun;9(6):426-31.
          pubmed: 9585428doi: 10.1007/s003359900790google scholar: lookup
        26. Santschi EM, Purdy AK, Valberg SJ, Vrotsos PD, Kaese H, Mickelson JR. Endothelin receptor B polymorphism associated with lethal white foal syndrome in horses.. Mamm Genome 1998 Apr;9(4):306-9.
          pubmed: 9530628doi: 10.1007/s003359900754google scholar: lookup
        27. Stavroulaki P, Apostolopoulos N, Dinopoulou D, Vossinakis I, Tsakanikos M, Douniadakis D. Otoacoustic emissions--an approach for monitoring aminoglycoside induced ototoxicity in children.. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 1999 Nov 5;50(3):177-84.
          pubmed: 10595663doi: 10.1016/s0165-5876(99)00247-5google scholar: lookup
        28. Sims MH, Brace JJ, Arthur DA, Harvey RC. Otoacoustic emission in a dog.. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1991 Mar 15;198(6):1017-8.
          pubmed: 2032904
        29. Rogers RK, Thelin JW, Sims MH. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions in dogs. Prog Vet Neurol 1995;6:45–49.

        Citations

        This article has been cited 4 times.
        1. Aleman MR, True A, Scalco R, Crowe CM, Costa LRR, Chigerwe M. Gentamicin-induced sensorineural auditory loss in healthy adult horses.. J Vet Intern Med 2021 Sep;35(5):2486-2494.
          doi: 10.1111/jvim.16221pubmed: 34322916google scholar: lookup
        2. Aleman M, Spriet M, Williams DC, Nieto JE. Neurologic Deficits Including Auditory Loss and Recovery of Function in Horses with Temporohyoid Osteoarthropathy.. J Vet Intern Med 2016 Jan-Feb;30(1):282-8.
          doi: 10.1111/jvim.13654pubmed: 26513722google scholar: lookup
        3. Aleman M, Davis E, Williams DC, Madigan JE, Smith F, Guedes A. Electrophysiologic Study of a Method of Euthanasia Using Intrathecal Lidocaine Hydrochloride Administered during Intravenous Anesthesia in Horses.. J Vet Intern Med 2015 Nov-Dec;29(6):1676-82.
          doi: 10.1111/jvim.13607pubmed: 26332487google scholar: lookup
        4. Aleman M, Williams DC, Guedes A, Madigan JE. Cerebral and brainstem electrophysiologic activity during euthanasia with pentobarbital sodium in horses.. J Vet Intern Med 2015 Mar-Apr;29(2):663-72.
          doi: 10.1111/jvim.12570pubmed: 25800436google scholar: lookup
        Subscribe to our newsletter
        Join 99,344 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.