الفهرس 
Anatomy of the earOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Hearing loss in children is often considered a silent and hidden handicap. Early diagnosis and effective management of hearing loss improve language, communication, and cognitive skills. The aim of the workis to assess hearing by ABR for all newly born infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Mansoura university children’s hospital and to evaluate risk factors and their effects on hearing loss. We studied100 newly born cases in the period from March 1st, 2014 to the end ofDecember 2014. Subject & methods: The studied neonates were subjected to hearing screening sheet & examined by ABR prior to their discharge from NICU. Result: Of 100 infants examined by ABR screening, 76% passed and 24% were refer. Discussion: the most significant risk factors associated with ABR screening were:mechanical ventilation for more than 5 days, VLBW, hyperbilirubinemia that required exchange transfusion, septicemia with meningitis, Positive family history of hearing disorders, craniofacial anomalies. Conclusion & recommendation: 1. All infants discharged from Neonatal Intensive Care Units should be screened for hearing loss before discharge. 2. All infants who do not pass ABR screening in the NICU should be referred to an audiologist for diagnostic auditory brainstem response (ABR) for final diagnosis. 3. Infants with confirmed hearing loss should receive intervention before 6 months of age from health care and education professionals with expertise in hearing loss and deafness. 4. Infants, who pass the screening program, while being at-risk, should be followed up regularly until the school age. 5. A hearing screening program should be instituted for infants who missed screening program in NICU by follow up visits every two months in the first year to catch up these missed cases.