Abstract
This was to explore a method of hearing test for infants in a “free field” with the use of two speakers and observation of the auditory behavioural responses. The normal threshold of hearing and auditory behavioural responses of 270 normal infants, 30 in each of 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 18, 21, and 24 months old were obtained.
By this method, the auditory behavioural responses of premature infants and low birthweight infants were measured to detect hearing loss in both groups and to find the possible causes of the hearing loss. It has been said that one of the major complications of nursing of premature infants is caused by the problem related to oxygen therapy. However, in this study there appeared no correlation between the duration of the incubation of infants and their hearing loss. There was a higher incidence of hearing loss in the low birthweight infants than in the premature infants, and moreover severe hearing loss was found among the low birthweight infants. From these findings the author concluded that physical underdevelopment of hearing organ was a factor of hearing loss.
