A comparison of the human voice (“Baah”) test and the automated auditory brainstem response in detecting neonates with hearing loss in a community setting

Objective@#To assess the usage of the “Baah” Test compared to the AABR (Automated Auditory Brainstem Response) in detecting hearing loss of neonates in the community setting. @*Methods@#This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. The targeted sample population are infants less than a month old who underwent screening at a testing facility in Malolos, Bulacan spanning the years 2011 and 2012. @*Results@#A total of 201 infants were included in the study, with a mean age of 10.77 days with a standard deviation of 7.79. The ratio of males to females was almost equal at 1:1.01. For infants who passed hearing screening on at least one ear, 96% (193 infants) correlated with the results of “Baah” testing. For those with bilateral refer results on AABR, 4 out of the 6 correlated with the “Baah” Test. @*Conclusion@#There is potential in using the “Baah” Test as a tool for hearing loss assessment of infants in situations wherein the usual hearing screening tests are inaccessible. It makes use of little resources, and though it does have its limitations in assessing for unilateral hearing loss (as the test cannot test ears in isolation), it would be able to identify infants likely to have bilateral hearing loss.

Comparison of Newborn Hearing Screening Tests Depending on the Examiners in a General Hospital in a City / 農村醫學 地域保健

OBJECTIVES: To review the status of newborn hearing screening (NHS) and to investigate the effect of the examiners on NHS tests to help the quality control of NHS at a general hospital in a city. METHODS: The charts of newborns from January 2015 to March 2016 and from August 2016 to October 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. We compared the results of tests performed by several examiners(group 1) with those performed by one audiologist (group 2) using the same automated auditory brainstem response test. RESULTS: The screening rate and referral rate were not significantly different between group 1 and group 2. The confirmatory test rate was higher in the group 2, but it was not significant. In group 1, the number of tests performed 3 or more times in one ear at one time was significantly higher. The number of tests performed in only one ear at one time was higher in group 2. The screening rate within one month after birth was 64.21%, referral rate was 7.32%, confirmatory test rate within 3 months after birth was 21.74%, and the prevalence of hearing loss was 1.46%. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference of results depending on the examiners. In order to make proper screening test, it is necessary to periodically educate the examiner and to instruct the examiner by the supervisor doctors.

Deafness Gene Screening and AABR in Children Hearing Loss Diagnose / 听力学及言语疾病杂志

Objective The aim of this study was to find out the carrying rate and the type of mutation of children deafness gene and discuss the significance of combined screening of deafness gene and hearing screening.Methods From October 2015 to December 2016,a total of 505 children from primary screening institutions were done with AABR hearing re-screening and deafness gene through blood filter paper by heel for gene sequencing at the hearing screening clinic of Hefei Maternal and Child Health Hospital.The 9 mutation sites of deafness genes included GJB2 (235delC,299delAT,176del16,35delG),GJB3 (538C＞T),SLC26A4 (IVS7-2A＞G,2168A＞G) and mitochondrial 12SrRNA (1555A＞G,1494C＞T).Results There were 69 children with deafness susceptibility genes in 505 cases and its overall carrying rate was 13.7％.There were 56 cases (81.16％)with GJB2 gene mutations,10 cases (14.49％) with SLC26A4 gene mutations,and 3 patients (4.35％) with mitochondrial 12SrRNA gene mutations.GJB3 gene mutations wer not detected.There were 376 who failed AABR rescreening out of 505.The total failure rate for AABR rescreening was 74.46％.Thirty-seven cases were examined with ABR out of 69 cases with deafness gene abnormal.32 cases (86.49％) had different degrees of hearing impairment.Conclusion GJB2 gene mutation was the highest carrying rate of deafness genes in this region,followed by SLC26A4 gene,less mitochondrial 12SrRNA gene mutations while GJB3 gene mutations was not detected.Hereditary deafness gene screening was a valid supplement for physical screening,the combination of both methods was helpful for early detection and intervention of deaf children.

Analysis of newborn hearing screening using automated auditory brainstem response / 소아과

PURPOSE: As hearing ability affects language and cognitive development, early detection and intervention of congenital hearing defects is very important. We analyzed the result of newborn hearing screening using automated auditory brainstem response and estimated the incidence of congenital hearing defects in newborn infants in Korea. METHODS: Hearing screening tests were done on 7,218 newborn infants who were delivered at Cheil General Hospital from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005. The first screening test was done on the second day of life with automated auditory brainstem response(AABR) using ALGO(3) Newborn hearing screener(Natus(R) Medical Incorporated, San Carlos, USA) with 35 dB sound level. The newborn infants who did not pass the initial screening test took the second screening AABR test before discharge from the nursery. Infants who did not pass these screenings at the nursery were followed up at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Samsung Seoul Hospital. RESULTS: Total 7,218 infants(83.3 percent of total 8,664 live births of the Cheil General Hospital) were screened in the nursery, and 55 of them failed to pass the newborn screening. Among 55 infants who were referred, six were lost during follow-up, and 14 were confirmed as hearing impaired. Six of them(42.8 percent) do not have any risk factors for hearing impairment. We can estimate that the incidence of hearing defects is about 1.9-2.8 per 1,000 live births. CONCLUSION: Automated auditory brainstem response is an effective tool to screen the hearing of newborn infants. Congenital hearing loss is more frequent than metabolic diseases on which screening tests are available in the newborn period. About 40 percent of infants who have hearing defects do not have any risk factors for hearing impairment. Therefore, universal newborn hearing screening must be recommended to all neonates.