Auditory Brainstem Responses of Premature Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit population of 69 infants with prematurity and diverse perinatal complications, such as asphyxia, elevated bilirubin and respiratory distress, were tested for hearing impairment about four weeks after birth using the auditory brainstem response as the basis of a hearing screening procedure. The threshold in premature infants, who had both hyperbilirubinemia and respiratory disorder or asphyxia was elevated more than that in infants with no hyperbilirubinemia not respiratory disorder. The latencies of the various potential components decreased with maturation. A linear latency-intensity function also fitted to each subject's latency because individuals who provided latencies at several levels would contribute more to such an analysis than individuals who provided a single latency.