The impact of COVID-19 on neonatal hearing in a tertiary care hospital

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China has had far reaching repercussions on mankind. Its effects on pregnant women and neonates have been intricate. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of gestational COVID-19 on neonatal hearing with the objectives of determining the factors affecting hearing and to estimate the prevalence of hearing loss in neonates whose mothers had gestational COVID-19. Materials and methods: The hospital-based cross-sectional study included 60 neonates whose mothers had gestational COVID-19 infection and 60 neonates of healthy mothers as controls in a rural tertiary care hospital for a duration of 1 year from September 2020 to August 2021. The study and control groups were compared in terms of continuous and non continuous variables. Maternal age, birth week and birth weight were categorized as continuous variables. Trimester of RT-PCR positivity, parity, mode of delivery, gender and results of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) were categorized as non continuous variables. All neonates were screened with TEOAE within the first 5 days of birth. Results: The demographic and clinical characteristics of the study and control groups on comparison did not reveal any statistically significant differences. All neonates passed the screening test in the first attempt. Conclusion: Otologic manifestations in COVID-19 has been diverse and is a cause of concern. Neonatal hearing loss was not observed in the study. A better understanding of this entity calls for further research as early detection can help to mitigate the aftermath of the infection if any. Keywords: COVID-19; neonates; hearing loss; pregnancy; TEOAE; congenital infections; vertical transmission