OBJECTIVE: To search for the prevalence and a screening model for hearing impairment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) infants. METHOD: Two-stage hearing screening program by automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) were used. A first test was performed as late as possible before discharge from the NICU. Those cases who failed the initial screening underwent a second test in an outpatient setting with an interval of one month. After a failure at the second screening, the infants were referred to our audiological center for further diagnostic evaluations within three months. RESULT: The subjects included were 824 infants who discharged from NICU between September 2007 and August 2008. Seventy newborns (8.5%) failed the pre-discharge AABR test. Of those, fifty-five (78.6%) received the second AABR screening after one month, and nine referred again. These nine babies were evaluated with additional diagnostic audiological tests. Three of them were eventually identified to have sensorineural hearing loss, and one was diagnosed as auditory neuropathy. The total prevalence of hearing loss was 0.48%. CONCLUSION Two-stage screening program of AABR may be an ideal model for hearing screening in NICU infants. The prevalence of hearing loss in our group is lower than that reported in the literature.
Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; Female ; Hearing Disorders ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Hearing Tests ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Male ; Neonatal Screening ; Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous ; Prevalence