Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2026
Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
[Hearing screening and diagnosis of hearing loss: high risk versus low risk neonates]
Ricardo Jorge Hernández-Herrera1, Luz María Hernández-Aguirre, Norma E Castillo-Martínez
1Departamento de Neonatología, Unidad Médica de Alta Especialidad (UMAE) 23, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. richdzher@hotmail.com
Insights
Congenital hearing loss affects newborns, but early detection through hearing screening is possible. A two-stage screening identified hearing loss in 5.7% of neonates, particularly those with risk factors.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Audiology
- Public health
Background:
- Congenital hearing loss is a significant health issue affecting 1-3 in 1000 neonates.
- It is the primary cause of neurosensorial defects in children.
- Early identification of permanent childhood hearing loss (HL) is crucial and achieved through hearing screening.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of hearing loss in newborns.
- To compare hearing loss rates between neonates with and without identified risk factors.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a two-stage hearing screening program.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study design was employed.
- A two-stage hearing screening process included otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) followed by automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) for abnormal OAE results.
- Newborns were categorized into groups with and without risk factors.
Main Results:
- Out of 518 neonates, 17 cases (86 per 100,000) were confirmed with hearing loss (threshold > 40 dB) via AABR.
- Hearing loss was more prevalent in the risk group (5%) compared to the non-risk group (2%).
- Key risk factors identified included prematurity, craniofacial anomalies, mechanical ventilation, amikacin use, and cytomegalovirus infection.
Conclusions:
- The two-stage hearing screening program identified a 5.7% prevalence of hearing loss.
- Hearing loss requiring intervention was confirmed in 17 neonates, with a higher incidence in newborns with risk factors.
- The study highlights the importance of targeted screening for high-risk newborns.
Introduction:
congenital hearing loss is a serious health problem affecting 1 to 3 out of 1000 neonates, and is the most common cause of neurosensorial defect; hearing screening helps to identifying early permanent childhood hearing loss (HL).
Objective:
to establish the percentage of hearing loss in newborns with and without risk factors through hearing screening.
Material And Methods:
by using a cross-sectional design, a group of neonates with risk factors and a group without risk factors were included in a two-stage hearing screening program. The otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) procedure was done in the first stage and the automated auditory brain stem response (AABR) procedure in the second stage. The latter was performed only in children with abnormal results in the OAE procedure.
Results:
518 newborns were included in the hearing screening procedures; 220 neonates with risk factors and 298 without risk factors. 35 had + OAE test and the ABBR procedure helped to confirm that 30 neonates had hearing loss, 26 had bilateral HL; 10 had asymmetric HL; 4 had unilateral HL and 5 were false positives. The AABR procedure ascertained 17 HL cases with a threshold > 40 dB (86 per 100,000), 11 cases (55 per 100,000) in the risk group and 6 (30 per 100,000) in the non-risk group (p < 0.05). The main risk factors were prematurity, craniofacial anomalies, mechanical ventilation, prescription of amikacin and cytomegalovirus infection.
Conclusions:
the two-stage hearing screening program ascertained that 5.7 % had HL. AABR (threshold > 40 dB) confirmed 17 (86 per 100,000) neonates with HL, which was more frequent in the risk group (5 %) than in the non-risk group (2 %; p < 0.05).
