EARLY DETECTION OF HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN SICK NEOBORN
Sun JH, Huang P, Li J,Xu ZM, Bu J, Shen XM
Shanghai Second Medical University affiliated Shanghai
Children’s Medical Center, China
Objective: To investigate the
incidence and morbidity of hearing loss and impairment in neonatal
intensive care unit (NICU) patients.
Methods: Using the auditory
brain-stem response tests (ABR) to detect hearing impairment or loss in 160
patients before discharge from the NICU during Dec.1999 to Mar.2001 in our
hospital.
Results: 85 newborns had positive
results in the 160 patients studied, hearing loss was 53.13%. In these
infants, 20 cases were bilateral impairment and 3 cases had serious hearing
loss. 26 cases were among the 34 asphyxiated newborns (76.47%); 29 were from
the 57 neonates with hyperbilirubinemia (50.88%); 18 were from the 28
premature infant group (64.29%), all of 7 premature with birth weight less
than 2000G had hearing impairment. 23 cases were among the 34 newborns who
received ototoxic agents (67.29%).
Conclusions: There is a significant
incidence of hearing impairment in critically ill neonates with some
specific high risk factors. Early hearing screening is necessary for NICU
neonates.