HEARING ASSESSMENT OF THE HIGH RISK NEONATES ADMITTED TO MOFID HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN DURING 2001 – 2002, USING AUDITORY BRAINSTEM RESPONSE (ABR)

BACKGROUND—Hearing impairment is one of the most important causes of speech problems in children. If the diagnosis and treatment of hearing impairment is delayed, it could cause developmental, emotional, and social problems for the child and his family. We aimed to assess the hearing impairment in a group of high risk infants in Tehran. MATERIALS AND METHODS—Auditory brain-stem response (ABR) was performed in 150 high-risk newborn infants who had at least one risk factor for hearing impairment. These patients were followed up after discharge from the hospital for 3 months and were reevaluated for assessment of hearing. RESULTS—The mean age of the patients was 22 ± 14 days. One hundred and eight patients (72%) had normal hearing and 42(28%) had different levels of hearing impairment. Seventeen (11%), 16 (10.7%), 4(2.7%), and 5(3.3%) of the patients had mild, moderate, severe, and profound hearing impairment, respectively. CONCLUSION—All high-risk neonates should have hearing assessment. ABR, is a sensitive procedure for detection of hearing impairment in the newborns and young infants.