Newborn oto-acoustic emission hearing screening tests

• Published in: Early human development Vol. 84; no. 4; pp. 225 - 229
• Main Authors: Rubens, Daniel D, Vohr, Betty R, Tucker, Richard, O'Neil, Courtney A, Chung, Winnie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.04.2008
• Subjects: Advanced Basic Science; Hearing; Hearing screen; Inner ear; Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine; Oto-acoustic emissions; SIDS; Vestibular; Hearing; SIDS; Oto-acoustic emissions; Hearing screen; Inner ear; Vestibular
• ISSN: 0378-3782; 1872-6232
• DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2007.06.001

Abstract Objective To evaluate the newborn transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) hearing screening tests of infants later diagnosed with the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Study design In a case-controlled study, the newborn TEOAE hearing screens of 31 infants who subsequently died of SIDS were retrospectively compared to those of 31 newborn infants that survived the first year of life. SIDS cases were individually matched to surviving controls based on gender, term versus preterm age and NICU versus well baby nursery. Results The TEOAE screens of SIDS infants demonstrated significantly decreased signal to noise ratios at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz ( p < 0.05) on the right side compared to healthy control infants. Conclusion Newborns at risk for SIDS are currently indistinguishable from other newborns and are only identified following a later fatal event. A unilateral difference in cochlear function is a unique finding that may offer the opportunity to identify infants at risk of SIDS during the early postnatal period with a simple non invasive hearing screen test. The ability to implement preventative measures well in advance of a potential critical incident would be an important breakthrough.