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Otoacoustic emissions: a new method for newborn hearing screening
1Department of Otolaryngology, Audiology and Phoniatrics G. Ferreri La Sapienza University of Rome (Italy).
Insights
Early diagnosis of pediatric deafness is crucial. Otoacoustic emissions testing allows for rapid, reliable newborn hearing screening, enabling timely intervention for better developmental outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Neonatal Medicine
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Pediatric deafness affects 2/1000 newborns, with diagnosis often delayed until 24-36 months.
- Delayed diagnosis hinders effective rehabilitation, impacting speech, voice, and social integration.
- Current diagnostic methods are insufficient for timely intervention in early childhood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) as a method for early diagnosis of infantile deafness.
- To highlight the benefits of OAEs for mass screening of newborns.
- To emphasize the importance of early detection for developmental outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) to detect hearing impairments.
- Implementing non-invasive, rapid (seconds), and cost-effective mass screening for newborns.
- Conducting tests 2-3 days after birth for early identification.
Main Results:
- Otoacoustic emissions provide an accurate index of disabling deafness.
- The OAE test is non-invasive, rapid, cost-effective, and highly reliable for newborn screening.
- Early detection through OAEs facilitates timely intervention.
Conclusions:
- Otoacoustic emissions testing is a pivotal advancement for early infantile deafness diagnosis.
- Newborn hearing screening using OAEs enables timely intervention, improving developmental trajectories.
- The adoption of OAE-based newborn hearing screening is increasing globally.
Abstract:
Pediatric deafness is a handicap affecting approximately 2/1000 newborns. Currently, its diagnosis is markedly delayed, since it occurs approximately at 24 to 36 months of age; at this age rehabilitation procedures (i.e., acoustic prosthesis, speech therapy, psychological interventions on the family, or cochlear implants in the most serious situations) are unable to ensure a complete development of both the voice and the speech, thus preventing the full participation of the deaf child in social living. The turning point has taken place when methods and techniques were developed; they are aimed at the very early diagnosis of infantile deafness and are based on the recordings of otoacoustic emissions, that is, acoustic signals of extremely weak intensity originating in the inner ear, which not only is a passive transducer, but is able to generate sounds also. Any lack of or any change in otoacoustic emissions is a accurate index of disabling deafness. The test under study allows to perform selectively a mass screening on newborns (it is carried out 2 or 3 days after birth) since it is definetely non-invasive, it is done very rapidly (a few seconds only), it is cost-effective and higly reliable. The newborn hearing screening is being accepted, at a faster growing pace, by an increasing number of health systems in the whole world.
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