Neonatal Hearing Screening using Otoacoustic Emission at Ranong Hospital

Abstract

              Background : Significant hearing loss in infant is the most common disorder at birth. Early identification and when possible treated prior to 6 months of age are important, especially in high risk group
              Objective : To determine the incidence and risk factor for hearing loss of newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit at Ranong Hospital
              Material and method : Prospective analytic study, Data Collected from newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit between January 2015 to August 2016at Ranong Hospital . Infantwere screened with otoacoustic emissions (OAE),the results were divided into two groups, pass and refer .The infants who failed three consecutive screening tests were refered for further checks to the more potentiality hospital for confirm pathologic result and treatment.
              Result: 483 newborns were screened with otoacoustic emission(OAE). There were 16newborns who failed three consecutive screening
test that refered to the tertiary hospital to confirm diagnosis. Refer rate 9.87% in high risk group and 0.3% in low risk group. This study found significant statistical relationship of the risk factor for hearing loss in high risk newborns was ototoxicity,mechanical ventilation more than 5days , very low birth weight less than 1500grams and multiple risk factor. Median age at first second and third screening in both group ( high risk and low risk) was 12,42 and 81 days respectively.
              Conclusion : Neonatal hearing screening test was necessary to performed in both high risk and low risk group. The result of this study suggest the important of risk factor identification as the cause of hearing loss in NICU,to inform the healthcare providers for early investigation and intervention.