Early Detection of Hearing Impairment in Neonates - Screening by Otoacoustic Emission Test

Abstract

BACKGROUND Approximately 3 per 1000 live births suffer from congenital hearing loss in India. If detected before the age of 6 months, their mental, social and intellectual growth can be restored by early intervention and rehabilitation. Their speech development and social integration depends highly on early detection of hearing loss, at least before the first birthday. We wanted to screen all new-borns for hearing and assess the incidence of hearing impairment in at risk and no risk cases by using otoacoustic emissions. We also wanted to evaluate the two-stage testing by OAE in screening programme. METHODS The present study was conducted from Feb. 1st 2013 to Jan. 31st 2015. A total of 849 infants have been studied of which 63 had high risk factors. RESULTS The overall incidence of hearing impairment was found to be 3.75 / 1000 births in no-risk group whereas 61.22 / 1000 were found in high risk group. CONCLUSIONS Early detection of hearing loss in infants by otoacoustic emission (OAE) is a reliable tool. It conforms with high precision when done with a two-stage protocol that reduces false apprehensions. KEYWORDS Neonatal Hearing Loss, Universal Screening, Otoacoustic Emissions, Brain Stem Evoked Response Audiometry (BSERA), OAE