Objective: to analyze the frequency of risk indicators for hearing loss and its influence on the increase number of refer cases.
Methodology:The study was carried out in a public hospital with a sample of 796 infants who participated in the neonatal hearing screening program by transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE).Results: 132 (16%) newborn had some risk indicators for hearing loss. NICU stay, low Apgar score, mechanical ventilation, lower birth weight less than 1500g and use of ototoxic drugs were the most frequenty risk indicators. A total of 51 (6%) newborns refer in the TEOAE test in at least one ear, and among them, 16 (31%) had a risk indicator for hearing loss. There was a statistically significant relationship between the refer rates in TEOAE with the following risk indicators: craniofacial malformation, genetic syndrome and birth weight less than 1500g.
Conclusion:The NICU stay, low Apgar score, mechanical ventilation, birth weight less than 1500g and use of ototoxic drugs were the risk indicators most frequenty in this sample and the main risk indicator associated with refer in the TEOAE teste were craniofacial malformations, genetic syndromes and birth weight less than 1500g.
Keywords: Risk indicators; Newborn; Hearing loss
IntroductionThe prevalence of bilateral congenital hearing loss is 1 to 3/1000 live births, and in neonates with risk indicators for hearing, especially those coming from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), this prevalence increases 20 to 50/1000 live births [1,2].Hearing is an important sense for the development of speech and language, therefore the earlier the hearing loss is detected, the greater is the chances of promoting the development of oral language close to that of normal hearing individuals [3,5].Neonatal hearing screening allows identification of those who present a probable deafness before hospital discharge and the knowledge of the population characteristics to be screened supports to guide the cases.When the risk indicators for hearing loss is present it is necessary that the neonate be monitored audiologically, sequentially, in the first years of life, because the hearing loss can occur late and consequently affect the maturation of the auditory system, which has an unfavorable effect on the language acquisition process [6,7]. Therefore, it should be emphasized that the assessment of risk indicators for hearing is done in the maternity which will allow the elaboration of auditory attention protocols, providing the creation of actions to prevent and promote hearing health [8,9].The objective of this study was to analyze the frequency of risk indicators for hearing loss and its influence on the increase number of refer cases.
MethodologyIt was a cross-sectional retrospective clinical study, conducted from January 2014 to December 2014, in a tertiary referral center. The Ethical Committee of the hospital approved the study (protocol 3395/09). Information on the pre, peri and postnatal history of the patients was collected through medical records,...
