Abstract

Background and objectives: Hearing loss present at birth is one of the major disabilities in childhood, the early detection of which can prevent further disability in speech, language and cognition. The prevalence of congenital hearing loss has been estimated to be 1.2 5.7 per thousand live births and is more among high risk neonates. In this context the present study was conducted as an attempt to find the prevalence of hearing loss among high risk neonates and the associated risk factors. Methodology: The present study was a hospital based cross sectional study conducted at a tertiary care centre in Trivandrum, Kerala during the period of November 2012 to October 2014. A total of 231 high risk babies were assessed by 2 staged DPOAE screening and those who failed the second stage DPOAE screening were subjected to diagnostic Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry. Results: 0.9% of the high risk babies had hearing loss. Both the neonates who had sensorineural hearing loss were males and had identifiable risk factors, such as hyperbilirubinemia, ototoxicity, neurological deficits and congenital malformation. Conclusion: The two staged screening protocol with Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission and confirmation by Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry was found to be a useful tool in detecting hearing loss in newborn. Hence the results of this study will be used to initiate universal newborn hearing screening in our hospital. Moreover our study highlights the relevance of neonatal hearing screening in our country where this screening is not performed routinely in all hospitals.