Search

Background: The hearing threshold of more than 25 decibels (dB) at the frequencies (500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hertz) which are important for speech recognition can result in significant auditory deficits. Hearing loss can be slight, moderate, severe or profound hearing loss based on the average threshold. Objective: to determine the incidence, associated risk factors hearing impairment in a population of neonates seeking care at Rohilkhand Medical College and Hospital, Bareilly. Methods: The present descriptive exploratory study was conducted among200 neonate who are born or admitted in Rohilkhand Medical College and Hospital, Bareilly over a period of 12 months. Results: The first otoacoustic emission (OAE) screening was done on infants at the time of discharge from the NICU. Eighty-three infants (55.33%) had "refer" on the first OAE and the remaining 67 (44.67%) were passed results at the time of discharge. At 21 DAYS of life, on repeat screening with a second OAE test, 36% "refer" on the first screen had a "refer" result on the second DPOAE. However, 4.4% "pass" on the first screen turned out to be "refer" on the second screen. These 33 infants who had "refer" results on the second screen were subjected to testing. At 3 MONTHS of life, BERA was performed on 33 infants. 11 infants out of 33 had sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) on AABR. Conclusions: Two-stage OAE done prior to BERA is helpful in the early detection of hearing loss. Our study demonstrates the use of a combination of OAE and BERA testing ensures high sensitivity and acceptable specificity, and predict the incidence of hearing impairment in Neonates Our efforts identified 11 Neonates with auditory neuropathy who hopefully will benefit from early remediation of their hearing deficit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]