Comparative study of hearing assessment in normal and high risk infants by newborn hearing screening methods in a tertiary care institute

Abstract

Background: Hearing plays an important role for children in development of speech and language and socialization. Hearing impairment can have a negative impact on an individual’s social, educational, and emotional life. If not detected early, it can affect the speech and language development. Early diagnosis by newborn hearing screening methods and protocols helps in prevention of hearing impairment. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to find the incidence of hearing loss in normal and high risk neonates.  Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in a tertiary care teaching hospital over a period of 12 months. A total of 1200 babies including 810 normal and 390 high risk babies were enrolled into the study. All neonates underwent otoacoustic emission (OAE) test within first 3 days of birth. Those who failed in this test underwent repeat OAE after 2 weeks, followed by brain stem evoked response audiometry (BERA), when the neonates fail in second OAE. Results: Of 810 normal babies and 390 high risk babies, 65 and 103 babies showed absent OAE respectively on initial screening. On follow up, 10 and 21 babies still showed absent OAE in normal and high risk group respectively.