Incidence and risk factors for neonatal sensorineural hearing loss in an Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

The sensorineural hearing loss incidence ranges from 1 to 3 per 1,000 live births in term healthy neonates, and 2-4 per 100 in high-risk infants, a 10-fold increase. A number of risk factors for SNHL were described, involving low gestational age and birth weight, intrauterine and postnatal infections, neonatal asphyxia, requirement for prolonged oxygen therapy and respiratory support, hyperbilirubinemia needing exchange transfusion, hyponatremia, surgery during the neonatal period, congenital malformations, family history of hearing impairment, genetic abnormalities, and exposure to ototoxic medications such as diuretics and antibiotics. The present study aimed to estimate the incidence of sensorineural hearing loss among newborns in NICU and to describe the distribution of risk factors associated with sensorineural hearing loss and the effects of their interaction. The