Abstract
Objective: To determine the incidence of hearing impairment in a standardized population of neonates seeking care in a tertiary hospital in Northwest India. Universal hearing screening is implemented in many developed countries. However, neither universal screening, nor high risk screening, exists in India. The incidence of hearing loss in India is found to be 1 to 6 per 1000 newborns screened [1-3]. Screening only the high risk neonates misses 50% of babies with hearing loss [4,5], hence a cost effective universal screening is the viable option to sustain such a program. In our study, the possible burden of hearing disability was evaluated in babies born at a tertiary care hospital in Northwest India. One thousand newborns were screened using Transient Evoked OtoAcoustic Emissions (TEOAE) and 28.6% of them had risk factors. Four out of One Thousand were detected with hearing loss. Brain Stem Evoked Response (BERA) was used to confirm and determine the extent and the type of deafness in the neonates who were screened positive.
Highlights
Hearing is a vital part of a newborn’s contact with his environment
The possible burden of hearing disability was evaluated in babies born at a tertiary care hospital in Northwest India
As hearing impairment is a hidden disability, it is usually detected after 2 years, by which time there is irreversible stunting of the language development potential [4]
Summary
Hearing is a vital part of a newborn’s contact with his environment. The ability to communicate, acquire skills, and perform academically is all greatly dependent on the ability to hear; especially in the present era which is quite dependent on audio-video based on technology. The less privileged youth of our country depends largely on business outsourced from other countries for economic stability. In this scenario, hearing and language skills are of prime importance, even to the poor urban slum dweller. Many developed countries have well established universal neonatal hearing screening programs. Considering the infrastructure limitations in India, it is crucial to adopt a cost effective way of detecting hearing loss to make this program viable. This study was undertaken to evaluate the possible burden of hearing loss among the neonates born in a tertiary care center in northern India and to justify the implementation of a universal hearing screening program in India, using cost effective and appropriate technology. Screening of neonates was done using Transient Evoked OtoAcoustic Emissions (TEOAE) and Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)
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