OTO Acoustic Emission Birth Method Study

2003

Principle Investigator: Ana Dausa, AuD., University of Miami, Mailman Center for Child Development Co-Principle Investigator: Gina Gomez, M.S. Consultant: Robert Fifer, Ph.D. Universal newborn hearing screening is a procedure that takes place in 38 states across the country. It's importance is based on the need to detect hearing impairment as early as possible, begin intervention shortly afterward, and have all elements in place by six months of age in order to allow the child to develop age-appropriate language skills. However, with all screening programs, the false positive rate (the percentage of children identified as having hearing loss who really have normal hearing) must be kept to a minimum in order not to generate over-referrals and increase programmatic costs. An earlier study co-authored by Gina Gomez, M.S. found indications that birth method played a significant role in the initial hearing screening outcomes with C-section babies having higher false positive rates than children of spontaneous vaginal births. The hypothesis was that this could be due to greater amounts of amniotic fluid in the middle ear, greater residual vernix in the ear canal, or a combination of the two factors. This study is designed to evaluate both birth methods to determine whether there exists a true influence on hearing screening outcomes using otoacoustic emissions for a large patient sample size. The participants in this study are infants born at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The birth method, time of birth, and time of test is being recorded for each child. The outcomes (pass/refer) are determined using standard clinical criteria for otoacoustic emissions. A total of 5000 children will be evaluated for this study.

hearing impairment, universal newborn screening

Performing Research or Evaluation

Health-Related Activities

Not Applicable

Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English, Specific Groups

Mulit-County

N/A