Performance on auditory, vestibular, and visual tests is stable across two seasons of youth tackle football.

Objective

Few studies have tracked neurologic function in youth football players longitudinally. This study aimed to determine whether changes in tests of auditory, vestibular, and/or visual functions are evident after participation in one or two seasons of youth tackle football.Study

Design

Prospective cohort study.Subjects and

Methods

Before their 2017 and/or 2018 seasons, male tackle football players (ages 7-14 yrs) completed three tests that tend to exhibit acute disruptions following a concussion: (1) the FFR (frequency-following response), aphysiologic test of auditory function, (2) the BESS (Balance Error Scoring System), a test of vestibular function, and (3) the King-Devick, a test of oculomotor function. We planned to repeat these on all subjects at the end of each season.

Results

Performance on neurosensory tests was stable, with no changes observed in FFR or King-Devick and a slight improvement observed in BESS performance across each season. Performance was also stable over two years for the subjects who participated both years. Across-season test-retest reliability correlations were high.

Conclusions

In the absence of concussion, young athletes' performance on the FFR, King-Devick, and BESS is stable across one or two seasons of youth tackle football.