Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials in the Diagnosis of Sensoroneural Hearing Loss in Children with Perinatal Pathology of Central Nervous System

Children hearing loss is far beyond the scope of otology, since audition is the basis of developing speech and cognitive abilities, as well as the child’s personality. Due to its incidence and severe consequences that often lead to disability, hearing loss remains an acute issue for scholars and specialists of various fields. According to worldwide-specialized literature, the occurrence of this disorder remains quite common and differs from one source to another. Statistical data provided by the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) show that deafness occurs in 1-3 cases per 1,000 healthy newborns and in 2-4 cases per 100 newborns admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The prevalence of neonatal deafness increases by 10-50 times in newborns with risk factors. 9 out of 10 newborns with congenital deafness come from families with hearing-impaired parents. Numerous sources of literature reveal that one child per 1,000 is born deaf and one per 1,000 acquires deafness during the childhood. The incidence of hearing impairment is 60 times higher than the incidence of congenital metabolic diseases , which currently involves a universal screening program, such as phenylketonuria with an incidence of 1/20000 live births