Fatores associados às alterações auditivas de neonatos e lactentes

Abstract

The hearing system is responsible for identifying, finding and processing sounds, allowing the newborn to both perceive different sounds and learn oral language. Disabilities in the hearing system may hinder communication skills. In addition, they may hinder or impede speech comprehension as well as give rise to cognitive, social and emotional losses. According to national and international literature, detection and intervention should be done as soon as possible followed by audiology monitoring in newborns and infants with risk indicators. Risk indicators are pre, peri and postnatal complications that may cause hearing disabilities. The present article aims to study the relation between risk indicators and hearing impairment in newborns and infants through a cross-sectional study. 292 medical charts were analysed from an auditory clinic in Juiz de Fora. Collected data included age, sex, pre, peri and postnatal complications, otoacoustic emission results and brainstem auditory evoked potential. Data were analysed through 14.0 Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program. The degree of hearing impairment was estimated. For the right ear, 67.1% were normal, 4.1% showed mild impairment, 4.1% moderate impairment, 4.8% slightly severe impairment, 7.2% severe impairment and 12.7% extremely severe impairment in the study group. For the left ear, 63.4% were normal, 4.8% showed mild impairment, 6.2% moderate impairment, 5.5% slightly severe impairment, 5.1% severe impairment and 15.1% extremely severe impairment. Out of 121 abnormal brainstem auditory evoked potential tests, 13.4% showed hearing impairment in only one of the ears. 28.1% showed hearing impairments in both ears. In the bivariate analyses, statistically significant differences were found regarding mechanical ventilation, admittance to neonatal intensive care unit, being in an incubator, no reaction to noise (as told by the parents), neurological conditions, encephalopathy, meningitis, medication use after being born and hearing impairment. Logistic regression models were developed. They included p value < 0.05. It was found that the most important factor for hearing impairment was reaction to noise (as told by parents) (OR=15), followed by medication use after being born (OR=3.06), admittance to neonatal intensive care unit (OR=2.49) and mechanical ventilation use (OR=2.29).