Hearing screening for ear disease?

A hearing test is to observe the health of the baby's ears through targeted tests. Because many newborns have certain hearing imperfections after birth, targeted tests are needed to find out the problem in time and then provide treatment. Newborns do not understand their hearing and cannot express it, so parents must pay attention to it.

What is hearing screening?

It is an objective, rapid and non-invasive examination performed on newborns in their natural sleep or quiet state after birth through electrophysiological tests such as otoacoustic emissions, automatic auditory brainstem response and acoustic impedance. Domestic and foreign reports indicate that the incidence of hearing loss in normal newborns and newborns with high-risk factors is quite different, with normal newborns being approximately 1%o to 3‰ and high-risk newborns being approximately 2% to 4%.

Diagnostic Hearing Evaluation

Infants and young children who fail the rescreening should receive audiological and medical evaluations at 3 months of age to ensure that congenital or permanent hearing loss is determined within 6 months of age so that intervention can be implemented. That is, children who fail the re-screening should undergo otolaryngology examination and acoustic impedance, otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem evoked potential testing, behavioral audiometry and other related examinations by a hearing testing agency. If necessary, medical and imaging evaluations should also be conducted to make a diagnosis. For children with high risk factors for hearing loss, the timing and frequency of individualized hearing reassessments should be determined based on the potential for delayed hearing loss. For infants and young children who pass the newborn hearing screening but have high-risk factors for hearing loss, hearing follow-up should be conducted at least once every 6 months for the first 3 years of age. If hearing loss is suspected, an audiological evaluation should be performed in a timely manner.

1. Test time: 3 months to 6 months after birth.

2. Test environment requirements: Sound-proof shielded room with ambient noise below 30dB(A)

3. Objective hearing test items include: diagnostic OAE, 1kHz acoustic immittance test, short sound and short pure tone ABR, AERP, ASSR and bone conduction ABR, etc.

4. Subjective hearing test items include: pediatric behavioral audiometry (BOA, VRA, PA, PTA), speech testing and auditory-speech development assessment form.

Newborn hearing screening, diagnosis and intervention is a complete hearing rehabilitation system project. Intervention measures are the final link and are the key to showing the results of congenital deafness rehabilitation. The method used and when to intervene are important for the hearing, speech and language rehabilitation of children. Interventions include medical intervention, hearing compensation or reconstruction, and auditory function training and speech rehabilitation training.

1. Medical intervention

Medical intervention is when a physician makes a medical diagnosis, i.e. the cause, extent, and location of hearing loss, and uses treatment to restore hearing.

Earwax in the external auditory canal: In newborns and infants, there is too much earwax and it is difficult to be discharged naturally, which may block the external auditory canal. In this case, the use of otoacoustic emission testing can often cause the otoacoustic emission energy to disappear, and may also affect the acoustic impedance test, so the external auditory canal cerumen must be cleared.

Acute secretory otitis media: Acute secretory otitis media in infancy and childhood is often caused by upper respiratory tract infection and immune allergy. It can cause tympanic effusion and hearing loss. It can be diagnosed based on clinical symptoms, ear microscopic examination, and audiological examination, including otoacoustic emissions and acoustic impedance examination. Etiological treatment can be used, steroid hormones and anti-allergic drugs can be used, and ephedrine can be dropped into the nasal cavity. If drug treatment is ineffective, transtympanic membrane puncture and drainage, incision and drainage, and transtympanic membrane ventilation tube installation can be used. To improve and restore the hearing of children.