Low birth weight as a risk factor of hearing loss

The purpose of this study was the audiological evaluation of low birth weight children as well as to investigate any possible relation between very low birth weight and the associated risk factors and the subsequent hearing loss. A group of 110 children was examined audiologically. The prenatal, perinatal and postnatal risk factors were related to the audiological diagnosis. Depending on the patient's age, audiological examination consisted of auditory brainstem responses, pure tone audiometry and impedance audiometry. The presence of more than two risk factors in the perinatal and postnatal categories was connected with profound hearing loss in later life. No such relation was found with the cumulation of the prenatal risk factors. In our material the greatest risk of the acquired profound hearing loss and deafness occurring in low birth weight children was connected with the general physical status of the neonates and the treatment programme in the neonatal intensive care unit.