Abstract:

Objective    To analyze the audiological characteristics in infants failed in hearing screening and provide useful information for early intervention in this population． Methods    Between January 2011 and December 2012， 286 infants who failed hearing screening in one or two ears received a full audiological test battery consisted of auditory brainstem responses(ABRs)， 40Hz auditory event related potential(40Hz—AERP)， distortion product otoacoustic emissions(DPOAEs)and tympanometry. Results    95(33.22%) infants were normal hearing subjects and 191(66.78％)showed hearing loss, which was either unilateral(n=70， 24.47％) or bilateral(n=121， 42.31％), including 59 cases(20.63%) of conductive hearing loss and 132 cases(46.15%) of sensorineural hearing loss. Hearing loss ranged from mild(n=91， 31.82％)， moderate(n=43， 15.03％)， severe(n=20， 6.99％) to profound(n=37， 12.94％)． Testing  was repeated in 16(8.38％) of these 191 infants with hearing loss. The results turned out that 2 of them became normal, while 10 were bilateral loss and  4  were unilateral loss． Conclusion    The hearing level in some infants who failed hearing screening can turn into normal owing to the development of auditory system. Middle ear function may be a confusing factor in hearing screening． The audiological characteristics in infants failed in hearing screening can be evaluated by audiological test battery, which provides useful information for early identification and intervention in this population. The results of hearing screening should be interpreted appropriately． However, poor follow-up compliance is still a big problem in such efforts．

Key words: Infant, Hearing screening, Auditory evoked potentials, Tympanometry