Objective: To investigate the impact of congenital cytomegalovirus infection on the hearing ability in infants.
Methods: By using the tools of distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) and auditory brain-stem response (ABR), the hearing ability of 38 infants with congenital cytomegalovirus infection and 16 cases of normal controls during neonatal periods was screened with a follow-up study at 6 and 24 months.
Result: In infants with congenital cytomegalovirus infection, 86.8% (66/76) ears at neonatal stage and 76.3% (58/76) ears at 6 months passed the tests; while in normal controls, 96.9% (31/32) ears passed the tests. The reaction threshold of ABR V in infants with congenital cytomegalovirus infection was higher than that in normal controls (P<0.005). Furthermore,in infants with congenital cytomegalovirus infection, 13 ears (17.1%) were extreme hearing loss, 5 ears (6.6%) were severe hearing loss, and 6 ears (7.9%) were moderately severe hearing loss. The incidence of hearing loss during the follow-up was 7.9% (3/38) at neonatal stage, 23.7% (9/38) at 3-4 months, and 7.9% (3/38) after 6 months.
Conclusion: The congenital cytomegalovirus infection could cause the prompt and late-onset hearing loss. The combination of the laboratory evidence with the dynamic hearing screening may contribute to the early detection of hearing loss in infants with congenital cytomegalovirus infection.