Hearing loss: are children with risk indicators actually at risk?

Introduction Despite the broad use of risk indicators in hearing loss management, their association with sensorineural hearing (SNHL) loss remains debated. The aim of this study was to assess the role of risk indicators among infants referred for targeted surveillance program and estimate their association with SNHL. Material and Methods We conducted a retrospective study. Infants referred for Otolaryngology assessment between January 2014 and December 2017 were included, using a consecutive sampling procedure. We reviewed all clinical records and assessed the risk of hearing loss. Statistical analysis was conducted on IBM SPSS version 24. Statistical significance was considered for p values below 0.05. Results The sample included 326 infants, 176 males. Median age of the first evaluation was 2 months. Targeted surveillance infants included 38 cases with a REFER result in TOAEs and 288 infants with risk indicators. Hearing loss was present in 21 infants. There were no differences between the hearing loss group and the normal hearing group regarding the most common risk indicators: ototoxic exposure (38% vs 51%), prematurity (28.6% vs 27.5%), and low birth weight (28.6% vs 22%). Whereas almost half of the patients in the hearing loss group had no identified risk factors, multiple factors were observed in 29%. Discussion and Conclusion Our study emphasizes the importance of universal hearing screening as we observed a weak association between isolated risk indicators and hearing loss. The presence of multiple risk factors seems to be more important. Further studies would be necessary to assess its clinical value.