Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

• Nasrin Gohari ¹
• Mohsen Firuzbakht ²
• Mansur Esmailzade ³
• Fatemeh Mashhadihossein ⁴
• Vahid Rashedi ⁵

¹ Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Hamadan, Iran

² Screening Department, Development Prevention Center, Welfare Organization, Tehran, Iran

³ Prevention & Cultural Affairs, Welfare Organization, Tehran, Iran

⁴ Prevention & Cultural Affairs, Welfare Organization, Varamin, Iran

⁵ Iranian Research Center on Aging, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Permanent hearing loss is one of the most common congenital disorders with estimated incidence of one to three per thousand live births. The best early diagnostic method for hearing impairment in newborns is Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS). This study surveys history of hearing screening, prevalence of hearing loss in newborns and results of various protocol of newborn hearing screening in Varamin city.  Materials and Methods: This cross- sectional study was conducted on 29476 neonates with TEOAE-TEOAE (Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emission-Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emission) protocol during 1380-1390 years and TEOAE-AABR (Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions-Automated Auditory Brainstem Response) protocol during 1390-1391 years. If the responses in both sessions were desirable, the infants were referred for a final diagnosis with ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) test and examination by Otolaryngologist. Rehabilitation interventions were done for hearing impaired newborns. Results: The prevalence of hearing loss in first protocol was 1/6 per thousand live births and in second protocol was 2 per thousand live births. 55% of them had risk factors of hearing impairment and 45% of them didn’t have any risk factors. Conclusion: According to the calculated prevalence of hearing impairment in this study, UNHS is necessary for all of newborns and to protect parents from concerns due to a false positive test results, we must improve the method of newborn hearing screening to decrease the false positive rate. Keyword: Hearing loss, Universal newborn hearing screening, Transient evoke otoacoustic emission, Auditory brainstem response