The Comparative Study of OAE and ABR in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Study Aims: To compare the correlation of two screening protocols using otoacoustic emissions (OAE) is screening and auditory brainstem response (ABR) in infants requires intensive care. Methods: Three hundred newborns in NICU were tested using both OAE and ABR at the ages of 3 days, 42 days, and 3 months. Results: At the age of 3 days, OAE referral rates were significantly higher than the rates of abnormal ABR (χ2=8.75, p<0.05). At 42 days and 3 months, there were no significant differences between the OAE referral rate and the rate of abnormal ABR (χ2=0.19, P>0.05; χ2=0.15, P>0.05). Conclusion: We demonstrated that there is significantly difference between the OAE referral rate and the rate of abnormal ABR of infants in the NICU at 3 days after birth. The difference became smaller with age. So combined OAE/ABR can be considered an efficient hearing screening method for NICU infants at risk from the first hearing screen at 3 days after birth.