Neonatal asphyxia, definitive markers and hearing loss.

A study of 56 severely asphyxiated infants (8 hearing impaired and 46 normally hearing) was designed to identify specific markers associated with asphyxia which could be related to hearing loss. Sixteen variables, including such items as: one- and five-minute Apgar scores, muscle tone, use of a ventilator, prolonged stay in the NICU, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), other organ damage, and intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) were considered. Results suggested four factors related to asphyxia which are often found in the presence of hearing loss, but none of these was considered a definitive marker or predictor of such a disability. A combination of HIE, seizures, associated organ damage and IUGR should be considered a strong marker for the probability of a sensorineural hearing loss.