Click evoked otoacoustic emissions compared with brain stem electric response

Area of Science:

• Neonatal audiology
• Hearing screening
• Otoacoustic emissions
• Brain stem electric response audiometry

Background:

• Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) infants are at high risk for hearing loss.
• Early hearing detection and intervention are crucial for infant development.
• Current screening methods have varying efficiencies and practicalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the practicality and effectiveness of otoacoustic emissions (OAE) as a primary hearing screen for newborns.
• To compare the test time and results of OAE with brain stem electric response (BSER) audiometry.
• To assess the agreement between neonatal and follow-up hearing test results.

Main Methods:

• Hearing tests using otoacoustic emissions (OAE) and brain stem electric response (BSER) audiometry were performed on 346 infants, primarily from a NICU.
• A follow-up hearing assessment was conducted at 8 months of age for 336 (97%) infants.
• Test times for both OAE and BSER were recorded and compared.

Main Results:

• OAE testing was faster (mean 12.1 minutes) than BSER (mean 21.0 minutes).
• OAE was recorded bilaterally in 79% of infants.
• Twenty of 21 infants who failed neonatal BSER did not produce an OAE; poor agreement between neonatal and follow-up results was observed.

Conclusions:

• OAE is a practical and efficient first-line hearing screen for newborns, with BSER used for confirmation if OAE is absent.
• Continuous monitoring is necessary for infants who fail BSER due to poor test result agreement over time.
• This approach can improve early identification of hearing loss in high-risk infant populations.