Hearing is a special sense needed for appropriate mental, speech and language development and academic performance. Even among normal babies, 50% of cases of hearing loss are missed out if screening protocol is not followed. In this study, we assess the hearing of all neonates born and brought to the tertiary care hospital, and also find out how many well babies with hearing loss would have been missed if this screening had not been done. Hence, the study aims to estimate the prevalence of neonatal hearing loss and study the associated risk factors. Neonates (N = 1559) attended the outpatient department of paediatrics were included. A detailed history of the neonates with special emphasis on prenatal, natal, postnatal, family history, and maternal risk factors were elicited. Three-stage hearing testing protocol was followed with transient evoked otoacoustic emission testing, a gold standard test for stage 1 and 2 and brainstem evoked response audiometry for stage 3. Of 1559 neonates, 138 had hearing loss. History of drug intake, order of the child, place of delivery and maternal history were the significant factors associated with hearing loss in neonates. Bivariate analysis revealed order of child, maternal history, and history of drug taken were the significant factors affecting the hearing loss in the neonates (P < 0.001). The prevalence of hearing loss was 8.85%. Early detection of hearing loss is essential for timely intervention and development of optimal communication skills. Further studies are required to decide the essentiality of Universal New-born hearing screening.
Keywords: Deafness; Hearing loss; Hearing tests; New-born infant; Paediatrics; Risk factors.
© Association of Otolaryngologists of India 2021.