Effect of hyperbilirubinemia on medial olivocochlear system in newborns

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate medial olivocochlear efferent system of babies with hyperbilirubinemia with normal auditory brain stem responses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective study in a tertiary referral hospital. The study involved 40 hyperbilirubinemic and 44 healthy newborns. Cochlear and auditory activity of participants was evaluated by transient otoacoustic emissions (TOAEs) and brainstem auditory evoked response components (BAER). Medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex was evoked with contralateral acoustic stimulation and recorded with TOAEs. RESULTS: A comparison of the MOC reflex activity between two groups with Mann Whitney U test revealed that MOC reflex activity were significantly decreased in the hyberbilirubinemic group for both ears (p