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Neonatal Screening for Congenital Hearing Loss in the North of Jordan; Findings and Implications
Amjad Nuseir1, Maha Zaitoun2, Hasan Albalas3
1Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan.
Insights
Congenital hearing loss affects newborns, posing challenges in developing nations. This study in northern Jordan found NICU infants, those with prolonged ventilation, hyperbilirubinemia, or anomalies, showed higher OAE screening failure rates.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Audiology
- Public health
Background:
- Congenital hearing loss is a significant neonatal health issue, particularly challenging for early diagnosis and intervention in developing countries.
- Effective screening protocols are crucial for improving developmental outcomes in affected infants.
- This study investigated the prevalence and influencing factors of congenital hearing loss in northern Jordan.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of congenital hearing loss in a northern Jordan community.
- To identify factors influencing the effectiveness of hearing screening protocols for newborns.
Main Methods:
- A prospective cross-sectional study involving 1595 infants undergoing hearing screening.
- Otoacoustic emission (OAE) testing as the primary screening tool across three phases.
- Analysis of factors impacting screening results, including infant location (NICU vs. nursery) and clinical conditions.
Main Results:
- A 5.6% initial failure rate on OAE screening (90 infants), with higher rates in the NICU group.
- 23.3% of infants referred for a second screening did not attend appointments.
- Five infants were referred for Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) testing, with two diagnosed with bilateral hearing loss.
Conclusions:
- The three-phase screening protocol using OAE and ABR is effective.
- Infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) had significantly affected hearing screening results.
- Factors increasing OAE failure include mechanical ventilation >5 days, hyperbilirubinemia, and congenital anomalies; mode of delivery was not significant.
Background:
Congenital hearing loss is one of the important illnesses that affect newborns. Early diagnosis and treatment are a challenge for medical authorities in developing countries to improve children's functional, intellectual, emotional, and social abilities. We aimed to study the prevalence of congenital hearing loss in northern Jordan community and identify factors that could affect hearing screening protocol.
Methods:
Prospective cross-sectional study of 1595 infants born in our hospital underwent hearing screening tests. Totally, 104 were tested in NICU and the rest examined in the nursery room using Otoacoustic emission (OAE) test as a primary testing tool. The patients were followed in the three hearing screening phases. Factors affecting screening results were studied and analyzed.
Results:
The total number of newborns who didn't pass the first OAE test in one or both ears were 90 (5.6%); 69 from the nursery group and 21 from the NICU group. In the 2nd screening phase 21 (23.3%) didn't attend the appointment. Sixty-four passed the second screening OAE test. Five newborns (5.6%) had a second refer result in one or both ears and referred for a diagnostic ABR test. Three infants passed the test and two found to have bilateral hearing loss.
Conclusions:
Hearing screening test is conducted via a 3-phases-protocol. OAE is used in the first two phases and ABR in the third phase. Hearing results is significantly affected for infants admitted to NICU. The following factors increase OAE fail response: mechanical ventilation for more than 5 days, Hyperbilirubinemia, associated congenital anomalies. Mode of delivery doesn't have statistical significance on hearing screening results.
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