Abstract
Objectives:
Determine whether wideband reflectance (WBR) measurements in babies who were born by vaginal delivery are different from those of babies born by C-section. Our working hypothesis is that babies delivered by Caesarian section have higher reflectance scores on WBR, as they have more fluid and debris in the outer and middle ear. This can have an impact on universal hearing screening passing rates.
Methods:
Following standard newborn hearing screening, WBR was measured in 225 healthy babies. Sixty-six babies were delivered by Caesarean section compared to 159 babies delivered vaginally. A total of 123 ears were included in the C-section group and were compared to a total of 288 ears in the second group. The results were obtained for 60 frequencies.
Results:
The mean screening age for babies in the C-section delivery group was 27.5 hours compared to 24.3 hours for babies in the vaginal delivery group. For both groups reflectance was high between 0.24 to 0.79 kHz and 2.50 to 4.80 kHz, with the highest at 4.5 kHz. Low reflectance was observed between 0.84 kHz and 2.50 kHz, with a second decrease in reflectance between 4.8 kHz and 8 kHz for both groups. In general, reflectance of the C-section group was slightly lower than the reflectance for babies in the vaginal delivery group.
Conclusions:
Further studies are needed to conclude whether the type of delivery may have an effect on hearing screening results and possibly on the optimal timing for screening babies delivered via C-section.
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