Newborn Hearing Screening With OAE

There are several examinations or screenings that should be performed on newborns. One of them is hearing screening. Hearing is one of the vital tools in humans. If it does not function properly, there will be a risk of hearing and speech impairment. Therefore, early screening needs to be done in order to minimize unwanted things so that they can be handled immediately. Hearing screening in infants needs to be done because the child's ability to learn various things depends on the ability to hear one of them. With hearing screening, doctors can provide early intervention if abnormalities or problems with hearing are found.

Advances in technology today, has found a tool that can perform an objective hearing examination on infants since the age of 1 day called OAE, this tool works very safely, does not hurt, is easy, short, accurate. OAE (OTO ACCOUSTIC EMISSION) is an examination tool with the probe tip affixed to the baby's ear canal. The importance of OAE examination in infants is because at the age of under one year, hearing rehabilitation is still very possible if parents are quick to do a hearing test early on. What's more, this test is important because if it is allowed to grow with undetectable hearing loss, the risk of speech impairment in children is also higher.

The following are some of the risk factors that may cause hearing loss in newborns, including:

1. Family history of hearing loss,
2. Congenital deformities of the ear and skull-facial deformities,
3. Fetal infections while in the womb (toxoplasmosis infection, rubella, cytomegalovirus, herpes),
4. Certain syndromes, such as Down's syndrome,
5. Birth weight less than 1500 grams,
6. low Apgar score,
7. care in the NICU,
8. The use of certain drugs that are toxic to the auditory nerve.

The tool used to screen hearing in newborns is OAE (Oto Acoustic Emission). This examination is done by inserting a probe into the ear canal to deliver a sound stimulus, this examination does not cause pain. Detecting hearing loss as early as possible can prevent a child's language skills problems later in life. It is recommended that hearing rehabilitation intervention be carried out immediately before the age of 6 months if congenital hearing loss is found in infants.

The preparation that must be done in this OAE examination is that the baby is in a state of sleep, calm and not fussy after which a device in the form of a headset is inserted into the ear. And this tool will be connected to the computer and the results will come out 5-10 minutes after the examination. The results of this OAE examination are in the form of a pass or a referral. In the sense that if the results pass or pass, it means that the baby's hearing condition is in good and normal condition. Meanwhile, if the results of the reference come out, it is necessary to re-examine at the age of three months and it is noted that the baby has not been said to have a deafness disorder.

Friends of Hermina can perform OAE examination at Hermina Pandanaran Hospital. For complete information, please contact the hotline of Hermina Pandanaran Hospital at 024-8442525.

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