Neuroaudiological effects in a case of fatal dimethylmercury poisoning

Objective: The audiological examination of this patient was to determine th e degree and type of hearing loss that was incurred from apparent dimethylm ercury poisoning. Design: This was a single subject case study design. Audiologic tests were selected to help determine sensory from neural and/or central auditory syst em dysfunction. Results: This patient demonstrated an inability to understand speech, both in formal and informal assessments, yet relatively good hearing sensitivity for pure tones bilaterally. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions showe d only minimal deficits in each ear. The auditory brain stem response was a bnormal bilaterally, indicating neural and/or central involvement. Conclusion: Dimethylmercury poisoning, in this case, resulted in compromise of the auditory neural system with little effect on the sensory (cochlea) mechanism.