Efficacy of Teoaes and BERA as Screening Tools for Deafness in Newborn

Abstract

Background: Hearing during the first 6 months of life is also considered as crucial for normal acquisition of language. Hence, infants with permanent congenital and early hearing loss identified by 6 months of age and given appropriate and timely support are reported to achieve better language outcomes than those identified later than 6 months of age. Methods: The study group constituted of 200 ears of 100 neonates (0-28 days) that were randomly selected. The neonates were taken from immunization clinic, newborn nursery, neonatal ward and intensive care unit of our hospital and also those referred from other hospitals. Results: There were 4 neonates (8 ears) with high risk factors of hyperbilirubinemia, prematurity and preterm born. These were subjected to Transient Evoked Oto-acoustic Emission (TEOAE) as well as BERA. Out of the 8 ears, 3 ears showed TEOAE fail, one had bilateral and the other had unilateral TEOAE fail. 5 ears passed TEOAE test. Conclusions: TEOAE cannot completely replace BERA as screening modality for hearing impairment in neonates, however can complement it.