Hearing configuration in children with cCMV infection and proposal of a flow chart for hearing evaluation

Abstract

Objective: This study had three main goals: (1) to determine the hearing configuration in hearing-impaired children born with a congenital CMV (cCMV) infection, (2) to see whether auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) was present, and (3) to propose a flow chart for the follow-up of hearing in children with cCMV. Design: Hearing configuration and the presence of ANSD in cCMV infected children was analysed. Selection criteria were: hearing-impaired children with a regular audiometric follow-up for at least 36 months, no other major risk factors for hearing loss, a normal middle-ear status, and an appropriate behavioral response to the given pure-tone stimuli. Study sample: Out of a cohort of 206 cCMV infected children, 18 hearing-impaired children were selected. Results: Audiograms of all children showed a flat configuration of SNHL: the slope between octave bands was never greater than 10 decibels. None of the 18 children were found to have ANSD. Conclusions: Hearing impairment in cCMV infants affected all frequencies equally and ANSD does not appear to be a feature of cCMV infection. A flow chart for hearing follow-up in children with cCMV infection was suggested in order to provide guidance, improve uniformity in follow-up, and to make results easier to compare.

Key Words::

• Cytomegalovirus
• congenital infection
• hearing configuration
• otoacoustic emissions
• follow-up

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Dimitri Aerden for the design of the flow chart.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.