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The etiology of neurosensory hearing defects in preterm infants
Insights
Preterm infants may develop hearing loss, especially in high frequencies. A higher number of perinatal risk factors, not incubator noise, strongly correlated with neurosensory hearing defects in these infants.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Audiology
- Perinatal medicine
Background:
- Preterm infants face various health risks, including potential hearing impairment.
- Understanding factors contributing to hearing loss in this population is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between gestational age, perinatal risks, incubator care duration, and neurosensory hearing defects in preterm infants.
- To identify key determinants of hearing loss in surviving preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 193 surviving preterm infants (28-36 weeks gestational age) from 1965-1967.
- Assessment of neurosensory hearing defects, particularly in high frequencies.
- Correlation analysis with gestational age, perinatal risks, hyperbilirubinemia, streptomycin, and incubator noise exposure.
Main Results:
- 24% of infants exhibited definite neurosensory hearing defects, predominantly in high frequencies.
- No significant correlation found between hearing difficulties and hyperbilirubinemia, streptomycin, or gestational age.
- A strong correlation was identified between the cumulative sum of perinatal risk factors and neurosensory hearing loss.
Conclusions:
- Incubator noise duration is unlikely a primary cause of deafness in otherwise healthy preterm infants.
- The overall burden of perinatal risk factors is a significant predictor of neurosensory hearing loss in preterm infants.
- This highlights the importance of managing multiple perinatal risks to prevent hearing impairment.
Abstract:
We retrospectively investigated the influence of gestational age, perinatal risk, and the duration of incubator care periods in 193 surviving preterm infants with a gestational age between 28 and 36 weeks raised in our intensive care nursery incubators from 1965--1967. 24 (12.4%) of the children showed definite neurosensory hearing defects, which were particularly encountered in the high frequencies. No correlation could be substantiated between hearing difficulties and hyperbilirubinemia, streptomycin application and gestational age. This study does not support the assumption that the duration of noise exposure in currently used incubators is a major determinant for the development of deafness in otherwise healthy preterm infants. Our study did show, however, a strong correlation between the sum of all perinatal risk factors and neurosensory hearing loss.