Otoacoustic Emissions and Evoked Potentials in Infants after Breast-Feeding Jaundice——Hearing Dysfunction in Breast-Feeding Jaundice

Adrián Poblano, Norma Ballesteros, Carmina Arteaga, Blanca Flores, Teodoro Flores

Laboratory of Clinical Neu-rophysiology, National Institute of Rehabilitation, Mexico City, Mexico.
Laboratory of Cognitive Neurophysiology, National Institute of Rehabilitation, Mexico City, Mexico.

DOI: 10.4236/nm.2012.33030                

Abstract

We study hearing in a group of infants with Breast-feeding jaundice (BFJ) by means of Transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (T-EOE) and Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) searching for relationship between bilirubin serum levels and auditory dysfunction. Eleven infants born at-term with BFJ were selected for the study. We studied also 11 control age- and gender matched healthy at-term infants without signs of jaundice. T-EOAE studies were performed between 5-7 days after birth, and 3 months later. BAEP studies were performed once. BFJ group infants exhibited lower amplitudes in T-EOE than infants in the control group. These differences disappear at the 3-month evaluation. In BAEP, we observed a significant latency delay of waves I and V in Breast-feeding jaundice group infants. All infants in both groups demonstrated reproducible wave V response at 30 decibels. No significant correlation values were observed between bilirubin serum levels and T-EOE and BAEP variables. Our data suggest that BFJ can result in transient peripheral and central auditory dysfunction. Dysfunction is reversible after treatment of infants with BFJ.

Keywords

Breast-Feed Jaundice; Hyperbilirubinemia; Hearing; Neonates; Transient-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions; Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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