A study on diagnostic ability of oto-acoustic emission and brain stem evoked response audiometry in hearing screening of high risk newborn.

Early detection of hearing impairment is crucial for normal social and emotional development. Prevalence of deafness estimated by various studies in newborn is 1.6 per 1000. Objective of the study is to compare the diagnostic ability of Otoacoustic Emission and brainstem evoked response audiometry in hearing screening of high risk infants.To determine the ideal hearing screening tool in high risk newborn and the referral rate of OAE and BERA in populations with the following risk factors- prematurity, low birth weight, neonatal jaundice and birth asphyxia OAE had higher referral rate and higher number of false positives. BERA is therefore considered gold standard in hearing screening.Mean duration of NICU stay had a positive correlation with hearing loss