2019 Volume 62 Issue 1 Pages 81-87
A total of 273 infants visited Aichi Children's Health and Medical Center for further diagnostic evaluation after Newborn Hearing Screening (NHS) between April 2012 and March 2015. Of these, 262 infants in whom stable subjective hearing tests could be performed or who could be followed up for more than 2 years were included in this study. The average age at the first visit was 6.2 months, and the source of referral was the department of otolaryngology in 74.8% cases, gynecology in 12.2% cases and pediatrics in 10.2% cases. As a result, 137 (50.2%) children were identified as having bilateral moderate or severe hearing loss. In addition, otitis media with effusion (OME) was diagnosed in 88 infants (32.2%) at the first visit. Tympanostomy and/or tympanic ventilation tube insertion were performed in 78 of these infants (28.6%) before further diagnostic evaluation, with 21 (26.9%) showing improvement, as a result, to within mild hearing loss, suggesting the importance of exclusion of OME. On the other hand, treatment was postponed in 5 cases with multiple handicaps.
