Hearing thresholds in newborns with a cleft palate assessed by auditory brain stem response.

OBJECTIVE

To objectively estimate the extent of hearing loss in infants with cleft palate and to measure the incidence of hearing loss.

DESIGN

Retrospective consecutive case note review.

SETTING

Tertiary institutional regional referral center for cleft lip and palate.

PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive cases of 90 infants with cleft palate who underwent auditory brain stem response (ABR) threshold estimation.

INTERVENTIONS

ABR threshold estimation during natural sleep in infants with cleft palate under 2 months of age.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Hearing level thresholds as estimated by auditory brain stem response and categorized as normal (< 25 < or = 35 dB nHL) , mild (> 35 < or = 45 dB nHL), moderate (> 45 < or = 65 dB nHL), severe (> 65 < or = 90 dB nHL), and profound (> 90 dB nHL) hearing loss.

RESULTS

Hearing loss was present in 82% of the infants tested. Most of the hearing loss was conductive (89%), mild (86%), and bilateral (84%). Average age of ABR threshold estimation was 48.5 days. In 22% of infants there was an associated syndrome. The mean air conduction thresholds for the right and left ear were 40 and 39.7, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of hearing loss in a cohort of cleft palate infants has been objectively estimated by auditory brain stem response thresholds and was found to be very high (82%).