Is hearing loss in infants associated with risk factors? Evaluation of the frequency of risk factors
Ciǧdem Tepe Karaca1, Caǧatay Oysu1, Sema Zer Toros1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Haydarpaşa Numune Educational and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
Insights
Certain risk factors like vaginal delivery and maternal infections are linked to infant hearing screening failures. More research is needed to determine the predictive value of these risk factors for evoked otoacoustic emission (OAE) testing.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal screening
- Auditory health
- Otoacoustic emissions
Background:
- Infant hearing loss is a significant concern.
- Early detection through evoked otoacoustic emission (OAE) screening is crucial.
- Identifying risk factors can improve targeted screening efforts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the prevalence of risk factors in newborns.
- To determine the influence of these factors on OAE screening results.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of current risk factor-based hearing loss detection.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 2,284 newborns underwent distortion-evoked OAE screening.
- Risk factors analyzed included sex, maternal infections, birth type, birth weight, familial hearing loss, parental consanguinity, hyperbilirubinemia, and NICU stay.
- Data collected between November 2009 and June 2012.
Main Results:
- Vaginal delivery, maternal infections during pregnancy, parental consanguinity, and low birth weight (<1,500g) were identified as significant risk factors for OAE screening failure.
- No statistically significant associations were found for sex, familial hearing loss, hyperbilirubinemia, or intensive care unit stay.
- The study screened 2,284 neonates, with 1,220 males and 1,064 females.
Conclusions:
- The predictive power of identified risk factors for infant hearing loss requires further investigation.
- Current understanding of which risk factors are most relevant and their impact on screening outcomes is limited.
- A refined system is needed to identify discoverable, predictive, and useful risk factors for targeted infant hearing loss testing.
Objectives:
To evaluate the frequency of risk factors and their influence on the evoked otoacoustic emission (OAE) of infants.
Methods:
All newborns between November 2009 and June 2012 in Haydarpaşa Numune Education and Research Hospital were tested on distortion evoked OAE screening test. Total of 2,284 infants were examined. Sex, maternal infectious disease, birth type (vaginal birth or caesarean sectio), birth weight, familial hearing loss, intermarriage of parents, hyperbilirubinemia, intensive care were analyzed as risk factors.
Results:
Total of 2,284 neonates were screened (1,220 males and 1,064 females) for the presence of OAE in both ears. Vaginal delivery, maternal infections during pregnancy, intermarriage of parents relative, low birth weight(<1,500 g) are related risk factors to failure of screening with OAE in our study. There was no statistically significant difference in sex ratios, birth weight, familial hearing loss, hyperbilirubinemia, and intensive care stay.
Conclusion:
Risk factors are only as useful as their predictive power. Not enough is known about which risk factors are relevant, which babies have the risk factors, or which babies will fail to attend follow-up, the effectiveness of targeted hearing loss testing is questionable at this point in time. A system needs to be developed to clarify which risk factors are discoverable, predictive and useful.
