The Prevalence of Hearing Loss Among Babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in a Tertiary Hospital in Malaysia

Objectives: To study the prevalence of hearing loss (HL) and to identify the possible risk factors causing hearing loss.
Methods: This retrospective study was conducted from January 2014- December 2016 at a tertiary hospital in Malaysia. All neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) were screened with a two-step protocol using an automated auditory brain response (AABR) and/or Otoacoustic Emission and auditory brain response (ABR). Descriptive analysis was used for the prevalence of hearing loss, degree of hearing loss and number of risk factors per infant.
Results: A total of 2713 babies underwent hearing screening in NICU was enrolled in this study. Two thousand six hundred eight (96%) babies passed the screening test and 214 (4%) babies required a further diagnostic test. Only 105 (49%) babies completed the diagnostic test. Out of 105 babies, 40 (38.1%) babies had HL. Mild HL was the commonest HL with 22 (55%), moderate HL in seven babies (17.5%), severe HL in two babies (5%) and profound HL in nine babies (22.5%). Craniofacial anomalies was the only significant independent risk factor for HL with p<0.05. There was an increased risk of hearing loss in those with craniofacial anomalies up to 11 times higher compared to those without such anomalies.
Conclusion: The prevalence of hearing loss among NICU babies was 1.5% and mild HL was the commonest degree of HL (55%).