Brainstem evoked response audiometry in the premature infant population

Area of Science:

• Neonatal audiology
• Neuroscience
• Pediatric hearing screening

Background:

• Premature infants are at higher risk for hearing loss.
• Establishing reliable auditory assessment methods is crucial for early intervention.
• Auditory brainstem response (ABR) is a key diagnostic tool for infant hearing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if normative auditory brainstem response (ABR) data from non-selected premature infants is comparable to selected, low-risk infants.
• To validate the use of ABR in a broader, non-selected premature infant population for identifying hearing abnormalities.

Main Methods:

• Auditory brainstem response (ABR) audiometry was conducted on 76 non-selected premature infants (32-40 weeks conceptional age).
• Follow-up ABR testing was performed on 45 infants at 4 months of age.
• Results were compared against normative data from selected, low-risk infants.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were observed between the ABR results of non-selected premature infants and selected, low-risk infants.
• This suggests that ABR is a robust measure across different infant populations.

Conclusions:

• Normative ABR data can be reliably obtained from non-selected premature infants.
• This facilitates the identification of auditory abnormalities in a wider range of premature infants, enabling timely intervention.