Assessment of hearing in preterm babies of gestational age less than 35 weeks in a neonatal care unit in India

Abstract

Introduction: With advancing science and technology there is increased survival of preterms all over the world, along with various types of morbidity in survivors. We aimed to evaluate the burden of one such morbidity- loss of hearing, in those babies less than 35 weeks of gestational age by early initiation of screening tests and review at 3 and 6 months in a Neonatal Care Unit in India. Materials and Methods: An observational study was undertaken in preterm babies born at gestational age <35 weeks from March 1st, 2020 to July 31st ,2021 in Neonatal Care Unit, High risk follow-up clinic and Audiological department of same hospital. After stabilization of the baby otoacoustic emission test (OAE) was done by ERO.SCAN OAE test system and also repeated at 3 months and Brainstem evoked response audiometry test (BERA) was done at 3 and 6 months after taking proper parental consent. Results: Incidence of hearing impairment was 6.25% at 6month follow-up, with more incidence in extremely preterm (4.17%) and early preterm (2.08%). Exposure to various treatments showed statistically significant (p<0.05) association with hearing impairment. OAE before discharge and at 3months showed sensitivity of 85.71% but specificity of 87.64% and 95.51%, respectively. BERA at both 3 months and 6 months shows 100% sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: Early initiation of screening test and follow up hearing assessment is crucial to detect hearing impairment in preterms.