Neonatal Hearing Loss: Outcomes of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening in a Tertiary Hospital Center

Objective: To analyze the outcomes of the neonatal hearing screening in a cohort of children referred to the otolaryngology department of a tertiary hospital center and to make a literature review about the risk factors for hearing loss. Methods: 5-year retrospective record review of 600 infants who did not pass newborn hearing screening and/or had one or more risk factors for hearing loss, who were referred for further evaluation in the Department of Otolaryngology of a Portuguese tertiary hospital, from September 2012 to December 2017. Results: From the 600 newborns, hearing loss was detected in 36 infants (6%), which means that the prevalence of hearing loss was 3.4 newborns per 1000 births. The most common risk factors were the use of ototoxic drugs, familial hearing loss, preterm birth, very low birth weight and low Apgar score. In the children with risk factors for hearing loss, hearing impairment was verified in only 2.43%. On the other hand, from the 67 children without risk factors for hearing loss that did not pass the initial hearing screening tests, 34.3% were diagnosed with hearing impairment (p<0.05). Conclusion: The most common risk factors were ototoxic medications, preterm birth, familial hearing loss, very low birth weight and low Apgar scores. The high incidence of sensorineural hearing loss in the absence of any known risk factor demonstrates the need to screen all the neonates.