Hearing loss in pregnancy

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Obstetrics
• Otoacoustic Emissions

Background:

• Hearing loss is a potential concern during pregnancy.
• Subclinical auditory changes may occur in healthy pregnant women.
• Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) can detect subtle cochlear dysfunction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of hearing loss in healthy pregnant women.
• To compare auditory function between pregnant and non-pregnant women.
• To determine if pregnancy exacerbates underlying hearing issues.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study was conducted involving 50 healthy pregnant women (third trimester) and 50 non-pregnant controls.
• All participants underwent screening for hearing loss, including pure tone audiometry (PTA).
• Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) were used to assess cochlear outer hair cell function.

Main Results:

• Thirteen of 50 pregnant women showed evidence of hearing loss (absent DPOAE) with normal PTA.
• Two of 50 non-pregnant controls also had absent DPOAE with normal PTA.
• The findings suggest pregnancy may be associated with subclinical auditory changes.

Conclusions:

• Pregnancy can potentially exacerbate pre-existing or subclinical hearing loss.
• DPOAE testing may reveal auditory changes not detected by conventional PTA during pregnancy.
• Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms and clinical significance of these findings.