Otoacoustic emission study among preterm babies

Abstract

Background: Preterm birth is often cited as an important risk factor for hearing loss in the baby. Hearing screening of term and preterm babies was done within 24-48 hours of delivery using otoacoustic emissions. Babies who failed the screening were recalled for further testing. Objective: To study the otoacoustic emission testing results among term and preterm babies. Methods: A prospective institutional based study was conducted between December 2018 and May 2020. All term and preterm babies were screened for hearing impairment using handheld OAE apparatus within 24-48 hours of delivery. Any baby with a “refer” result in the OAE study was recalled for a repeat OAE testing after a month. This was repeated two more times if the baby failed the test every time. In case of failing the test for the third time, the baby was sent for brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA) for confirmation of hearing loss. Results: Screening was done for 259 babies who were born preterm and 13967 term babies. Among the preterm babies, 92 babies passed the hearing screening the first time. Remaining babies were referred for further follow up. Ultimately, 3 babies had to be referred for BERA and 1 baby had confirmed hearing loss. Conclusions: Preterm babies are often quoted to have a higher risk of developing hearing loss when compared to term babies. Early screening for hearing loss among such babies will help in early recognition and intervention that will help the baby to deal with the handicap.

Keywords

• hearing screening
• preterm babies
• otoacoustic emissions