Importance of BERA in the early neonatal period in newborns with risk factors for hearing loss.

Abstract

Introduction: Neonatal hearing screening (NHS) was created to detect early alterations that may impact the hearing of newborns and infants, with the goal of referring them for accurate diagnosis and rehabilitation, if necessary. The ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) is an important instrument in this auditory evaluation. Objective: To determine the main risk factors associated with altered ABR in infants treated in the maternity ward, pediatric ward, and neonatal ICU (NICU) of a reference hospital in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, in 2024. Material and Methods: Observational, cross-sectional, retrospective study conducted with 23 newborns with altered ABR. The variables evaluated included prematurity, length of stay in the NICU, time on mechanical ventilation, use of ototoxic medication, birth weight, congenital infections, postnatal bacterial or viral infections, and Apgar score at one and five minutes. Results: The main risk factors observed in neonates with altered ABR were: length of stay in the neonatal ICU greater than 5 days (91.3%), use of ototoxic medication (87%), and postnatal bacterial or viral infections (87%). Other factors such as low birth weight (65.2%), prematurity between 33 and 37 weeks (43.5%), and prematurity between 28 and 32 weeks (26%) were not as frequent, although they are important in other studies in the literature. Conclusion: The identification of risk factors for neonatal hearing loss reinforces the importance of screening and health policies aimed at preventing hearing loss in at-risk populations, since early detection allows for timely audiological intervention, potentially improving language development, cognition, and social skills.