Comparison of Hearing loss in Children 3 months to 3 years Old with and without Risk Factors

Background: Babies in newborn intensive care units (NICU) are more expected to experience hearing loss due to a wide range of risk factors, such as prematurity, low birth weight, and hyperbilirubinemia. Effects of hearing impairment among children include poor consequences in speech, linguistics, social interaction, education, intelligence abilities, and overall well-being of life. Aims & Objective: The purpose of our research was to find out the comparison of hearing loss in children 3 months to 3 years old, with and without risk factors. Methodology: Our study was conducted at the Audiology Centre, Lahore. Children age range from 3 months to 3 years; both male and female genders were included in our study. Detailed history-taking of patients was done. We did an audiological evaluation through TEOAEs, Immittance Audiometry, and Auditory Brainstem Response Audiometry in 98 children (49 in each group) with risk factors indicated by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearings (JCIH) (2007) and without risk factors. Every parent gave their consent to participate in the study. Results & Findings: The total number of children was 98; 59.6% were male and 39.4% were female. The mean age of the children was 1.86±0.73. In the risk factor group, 77.6% of children had referred TEOAEs, while in the children without risk factor group, 34.7% of children had TEOAEs referred. In the risk factor group, 77.6% of children had hearing loss, while in the without risk factor group, 36.7% of children had hearing loss. The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test reveals a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) between the hearing impaired with and without risk factor groups. Conclusion: Our study reveals significant at-risk factors for childhood hearing impairment, including consanguinity, prematurity, NICU stays for more than 5 days, family history of hearing loss, meningitis, and low birth weight. This current study recommends mandatory neonatal hearing screening for early identification and management. Advances in technology and evidence-based public health approaches can help recognize, treat, and cure hearing loss.