Auditory function in newborn intensive care unit patients revealed by auditory brain-stem potentials.

The relations between clinical illness and auditory response (as revealed by auditory brain-stem potentials) were prospectively studied in a neonatal intensive care unit. Forty-nine tests were performed on 29 infants with gestational age 24 to 43 weeks and birth weight 530 to 3,380 gm. Auditory test results were classified as pass or fail, depending on the presence or absence of wave V at a latency of 7 to 11 ms in response to clicks 60 dB above the normal adult threshold. Six patients failed and 23 patients passed. The failures were not correlated with excessive noise exposure or ototoxic medication. Five of the patients who failed had intracranial hemorrhage. Routine screening of infants in the NICU for auditory impairment is a clinically feasible and useful procedure.