Prevalence and risk factors for auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder in a screened newborn population at risk for hearing loss.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD) among infants with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and discuss the risk factors.

Methods: The study group was comprised of children diagnosed with ANSD. Criteria for inclusion in the study group were as follows: permanent sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL); normal transient evoked or distortion product OAEs; absent or elevated middle-ear muscle reflexes (MEMR); severely abnormal or absent ABR waveform.

Risk factors associated with hearing loss in infants: an analysis of 5282 referred neonates.

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the frequency of risk factors and their influence on - the distribution and manifestation of - hearing loss in infants. The study was conducted at the Department of Laryngology in the Upper Silesian Center for Child Health in Katowice (Poland), as part of the Polish National Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening, conducted from 2003 to 2009.

Materials And Methods: The selected population included every newborn that twice tested positive on the transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) screening test, as well as all neonates with one or more risk factors as defined by the Joint Committee of Infant Hearing in 2000 (JCIH).