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Normal neonatal hearing screening did not preclude sensorineural hearing loss in two‐year‐old very preterm infants
Author(s) -
Noortvan der Spek Inge L.,
Goedegebure André,
Hartwig Nico G.,
Kornelisse René F.,
Franken MarieChristine J. P.,
WeisglasKuperus Nynke
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.13960
Subject(s) - medicine , sensorineural hearing loss , hearing loss , pediatrics , cohort , audiology , audiometry , cohort study , congenital hearing loss
Aim Very preterm infants are at risk of neonatal hearing loss. However, it is unknown whether infants with a normal neonatal hearing screening result risk sensorineural hearing loss ( SNHL ) at a later age. Methods This cohort study was conducted at the Erasmus Medical University Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on 77 very preterm infants born between October 2005 and September 2008. All infants underwent auditory brainstem response audiometry during neonatal hearing screening and at two years of corrected age. The frequency of SNHL in infants with a normal neonatal hearing screening was analysed and the risk factors associated with newly diagnosed SNHL in these infants were examined. Results We found that 3.9% (3/77) of the very preterm infants showed permanent hearing loss during their neonatal hearing screening. In addition, a relatively high prevalence of newly diagnosed SNHL (4.3%) was found in three of the 70 infants followed up at the age of two. The total prevalence rate of permanent hearing loss in the cohort was approximately 8%. Conclusion A normal outcome of neonatal hearing screening did not guarantee normal hearing at two years of age in this very preterm cohort and paediatricians should be alert to the possibility of late‐onset SNHL .