Identifying hearing loss in the intensive care nursery: a 20-year summary

The outcome of a study on hearing loss in graduates of one third-level and two second-level intensive care nurseries (ICN) is reported. The goals were to identify, test, and fit hearing aids on those who need them. Initial hearing-threshold estimates were obtained by auditory brainstem response (ABR) analyses at the time of discharge from the hospital; the mean percentage of failures to respond to 30-dB nHL clicks (in one or both ears) was 19.8 percent for the third-level ICN graduates (N = 4374), and 12.0 percent for the second-level graduates (N = 1527). About half of those with hearing loss at the initial Test were returned for a ReTest 6-20 weeks later, at which time 48.7 percent of the third-level and 44.0 percent of the second-level group were judged normal because they delivered 25-dB click ABRs bilaterally. Following conventional audiological work-ups of the ones with unilateral or bilateral hearing loss, hearing aids were fitted to 92 in the third-level group (2.1% of those Tested) and 22 of the second-level group (1.4%). Not quite half of these fittings occurred within 1 year of the hospital Test that initially diagnosed the loss.