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Brainstem electric-response audiometry in infants of a neonatal intensive care unit
A Durieux-Smith1, T W Picton, C G Edwards
1Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Canada.
Insights
Testing infants later in their development using brainstem electric-response audiometry (BERA) can improve initial hearing evaluations. This approach reduces false positives for transient hearing loss in neonatal intensive care unit graduates.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Neonatal Medicine
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) serve high-risk infants.
- Early auditory assessment is crucial for developmental outcomes.
- Brainstem electric-response audiometry (BERA) is a key diagnostic tool.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of infant age at testing on BERA outcomes.
- To refine diagnostic criteria for hearing impairment in NICU graduates.
- To optimize auditory screening protocols for vulnerable infants.
Main Methods:
- Brainstem electric-response audiometry (BERA) was performed on 600 infants.
- Two groups were tested: inpatients (mean age 39.4 weeks) and outpatients (mean age 55.4 weeks).
- Hearing thresholds were analyzed in relation to age at testing.
Main Results:
- Testing older infants significantly reduced initial evaluation failures.
- Later testing decreased the identification of transient, self-resolving hearing losses.
- A threshold of ≤30 dB nHL was considered normal.
- Infants with a 40 dB nHL threshold at initial testing may require further management.
Conclusions:
- Postponing BERA testing in NICU graduates improves screening efficiency.
- Establishing age-appropriate BERA thresholds aids accurate diagnosis.
- This study supports revised audiological management strategies for infants.
Abstract:
Brainstem electric-response audiometry was used to assess the auditory function of 600 infants from a neonatal intensive care unit. Two groups of children were tested, one group as inpatients prior to discharge with a mean age at test of 39.4 weeks and one group as outpatients with a mean age at test of 55.4 weeks. Our results indicate that testing infants when they are older will reduce the incidence of failure on the initial evaluation and will reduce the identification of transient hearing losses which resolve spontaneously. Our results also indicate that a threshold of 30 dB nHL or less is probably normal and that some infants with a threshold of 40 dB nHL at first test require otological or audiological management.