title: Brainstem electric response audiometry in preterm infants.
abstract: In the Sophia Children's Hospital in Rotterdam 108 preterm infants were examined with Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR). Ears were categorized as 1) normal sensitivity for post-conceptional age (PCA), 2) probably-mild loss of sensitivity, or 3) a moderate to severe loss of sensitivity. All infants showed ABR peaks, so no "deaf" individuals were found. A bilaterally normal sensitivity was found in 61. A probably-mild loss was found in 22 infants and a moderate to severe loss in 21 infants. The type of loss was conductive in 31 and cochlear in 12. A moderate to severe bilateral cochlear loss was found in 2. This is in line with the literature. Of the 43 infants with a (probable) loss 18 were examined again at 3 months corrected age. Only half of the conductive losses had disappeared, the other half was exacerbated. About 2 out of 3 initially moderate to severe losses were confirmed at follow-up. The moderate to severe losses of the cochlear type were all confirmed.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology, Erasmus University/Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: van Zanten
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Brocaar
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Fetter
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Baerts
mesh_terms: D001300:Audiometry, Evoked Response; D001933:Brain Stem; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*