Hearing Assessment in Infants: A Retrospective Institutional Study

Introduction
Disorders of hearing are one of the most common disabilities in the country, especially in children. Hearing impairment is the most common congenital disease (3.5–9%) considering all degrees of permanent unilateral or bilateral deafness.  Hearing disability can further lead to lifestyle difficulties later on in life. Early identification and a comprehensive treatment can help these people lead a better and productive life.
Materials and Methods 
A retrospective study from the hospital records was done of infants admitted in NICU/PICU in a rural setting in, Davangere, Karnataka from January 2017 to January 2021 who had undergone Oto-acoustic emission (OAE) upon discharge, with a Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA) test done in cases that failed the initial test after 3 months.
Results 
Out of the 1115 cases that was included 213(19.1%) cases were found to have hearing disability with low birth weight and hyperbilirubinemia counting for most of the cases with 326(29.2%) and 301(27.0%) cases respectively.
Conclusion
The findings of our study suggest that an early investigation for hearing disability in high-risk infants for early detection and comprehensive management of hearing disorders. It also points towards a further need for advocating a universal screening of neonates for detecting hearing disability when feasible.