The patient is a 34-month-old male who is brought to you…

   The patient is a 34-month-old male who is brought to you by his parents. They are not certain whether a hearing loss is present, although the child says “huh” a good deal. The father believes that the child “does not pay attention.” The child has been “slightly behind” his two older, normal siblings (a boy and a girl) in his language development milestones. A pediatrician has treated the child with antibiotics for “ear infections” on a few occasions, but more often for “tonsillitis.” No marked temperature elevations were associated with these episodes, and the child is otherwise healthy. There is no family history of hearing loss, although his father has difficulty understanding speech in groups and has a constant high-pitched tinnitus since serving two years in the artillery. The child tired quickly before all the desired hearing tests could be completed. ABR thresholds were obtained due to the childs poor reliability, and resulted in responses indicating all waves are prolonged with normal interpeak latencies.  The Latency Intensity function found Wave V threshold at 30 dBHL in the right ear and 40 dBHL in the left ear. Jerger type B tympanograms were found bilaterally.    What is the likely pathology ?