Sindrome dell’acquedotto vestibolare largo: esperienza personale e revisione della letteratura

Recessive hearing impairment in three birth cohort in western Sicily

Sordità neurosensoriale non sindromica: genotipi della Cx26 (GJB2) in famiglie siciliane

Epidemiologia, aspetti genetici e clinici nei neonati con familiarità per ipoacusia: esperienza di un centro di terzo livello

INTRODUZIONE Rilievo frequente nei soggetti affetti da ipoacusia neurosensoriale (SNHL) è un' anamnesi familiare positiva per sordità, correlata a mutazioni genetiche, non sempre facilmente individuate, responsabili del deficit uditivo. L'eziologia genetica costituisce complessivamente il 50-60% di tutte le cause di sordità. Si distinguono forme sindromiche e non sindromiche, queste ultime classificabili secondo le differenti modalità di trasmissione. Nel 50-80% dei casi è riscontrabile una mutazione interessante il gene della connessina 26 (GJB2) localizzato sul cromosoma 13 che oramai è noto, codifica per una proteina chiamata in causa nei processi di trasduzione dello stimolo sonoro. La …

Tecniche di intelligenza artificiale nella diagnosi delle sindromi genetiche con ipoacusia

A genotype-phenotype correlation in Sicilian patients with GJB2 biallelic mutations

The aim of this work was to study the genotype distribution of Sicilian patients with biallelic GJB2 mutations; to correlate genotype classes and/or specific mutations of GJB2 gene (35delG-non-35delG) with audiologic profiles. A total of 10 different mutations and 11 different genotypes were evidenced in 73 SNHL subjects; 35delG (90.36 % of cases) and IVS1+1 (13.69 %) were the most common mutations found in the cohort with a significant difference in the distribution between North and South Sicily. Audiological evaluation revealed a severe (16/73) to profound (47/73) hearing loss (HL) in 86.13 % of cases without significant difference between the degree of HL and the province of origin of t…

Analisi delle mutazioni del gene Cx26 (GJB2) in famiglie siciliane con sordità neurosensoriale non sindromica

Audiologic and psychological approach to patients with tinnitus: Preliminary findings

Neonatal Hearing Screening: Three years of experience in Western Sicily

The role of atopy in otitis media with effusion among primary school children: audiological investigation

The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of atopy in otitis media with effusion (OME) in children attending primary school in western Sicily focusing on the audiological characteristics among atopic and non-atopic subjects suffering from OME. A total of 310 children (5-6 years old) were screened by skin tests and divided into atopics (G1) and non-atopics (G2). The samples were evaluated for OME by pneumatic otoscopy, tympanogram and acoustic reflex tests. The parameters considered were: documented persistent middle ear effusion by otoscopic examination for a minimum of 3 months; presence of B or C tympanogram; absence of ipsilateral acoustic reflex and a conductive hearing loss …

Sordità ereditaria recessiva nella Sicilia occidentale: studio epidemiologico su tre coorti

Profilo familiare ed individuale come fattore predittivo delle performances verbo-acustiche pre impianto cocleare: esperienza personale

RAZIONALE L’impianto cocleare è oramai il trattamento di scelta in tutti quei casi di sordità preverbale severa/profonda permettendo di ottenere a distanza di 12 mesi una soglia uditiva amplificata integralmente all’interno dello spettro acustico del parlato. Se ciò è dimostrato ampiamente dalla letteratura, è comunque vero che le aspettative familiari e le performances verbo/acustiche sono altamente variabili. Lo scopo del presente lavoro è quello di identificare tramite un accurato studio del profilo familiare ed individuale, tutte le possibili variabili in grado di influenzare i risultati. MATERIALI E METODI Le variabili oggetto del presente studio sono state suddivise in familiari ed in…

Tubal function in divers and non-divers: case control study

Background. The aim of this study was to examine whether recurrent scuba diving during the time and frequent use of Valsalva’s manoeuvre while diving, increase functionality of divers’ Eustachian Tube (ET) comparison with non-divers. Methods. The study included 30 experienced divers (G1), mean age 25,8 years, who were diving from over 10 years. The control group consisted of 30 non-divers (G2), mean age 31,3 years. Each sample underwent clinical examination to identify predisposing conditions to middle ear barotraumas and ET dysfunction. ET function has been investigated by Inflation-Deflation test that shows baseline tympanogram, a second tympanogram shifted of the peak towards positive va…

Potenziali evocati vestibolari miogenici nei deficit uditivi

Con il termine VEMPs (Vestibular Evoked Muscolar Potentials) si designa una particolare tipologia di potenziali muscolari registrabili dal muscolo sternocleidomastoideo (SCM), a seguito di un'intensa stimolazione acustica. La neurofisiotopografia dei VEMPs si racchiude in un breve arco riflesso disinaptico: lo stimolo sonoro agendo sui recettori otolitici sacculari determina l’attivazione del riflesso vestibolo-collico che viene registrato come “variazione di potenziale bioelettrico” ponendo gli elettrodi sulla clavicola, sul muscolo sternocleidomastoideo, e sullo sterno. La metodica quindi rappresenta una strategia non invasiva di esplorazione di entrambi i vestiboli, dei recettori otoliti…

Infarto acuto dell'AICA e sordità improvvisa

OBIETTIVI Gli autori descrivono un caso clinico, uomo adulto di 57 anni, di sordità improvvisa come sola manifestazione di infarto della arteria cerebellare antero‐inferiore (AICA) di destra in presenza di un quadro radiologico da interessamento della regione pontina di destra la cui valutazione radiologica, eseguita in urgenza ha permesso l’identificazione del quadro. MATERIALI Il colpo ischemico acuto nella distribuzione dell’AICA conosciuto come “Sindrome AICA” è un quadro clinico patologico che generalmente è accompagnato da una sintomatologia mista di tipo otologica e neurologica; si caratterizza infatti per: sordità improvvisa, vertigini di tipo periferiche e/o centrali da irritazione…

Frequenza e fenotipo delle mutazioni GJB2 in pazienti con ipoacusia neurosensoriale non-sindromica congenita: analisi di una coorte della Sicilia Occidentale

Circa il 60% delle ipoacusie congenite sono associate a cause genetiche nei paesi sviluppati. La sordità genetica è classificata in sindromica (30%) e non sindromica (70%), quest’ultima riconducibile in più del 50% dei casi a mutazioni del gene GJB2. Tale gene, espresso nella coclea, codifica per la proteina gap junction “Connessina 26”, la cui funzione è cruciale per la comunicazione intercellulare. L’obiettivo del nostro lavoro è stato quello di stimare la frequenza delle mutazioni GJB2 e la loro correlazione con il fenotipo audiologico in 102 pazienti siciliani affetti da sordità neurosensoriale congenita non sindromica (NSHL) bilaterale e portatori di almeno una mutazione del gene GJB2.…

Prevalence and risk factors for sensorineural hearing loss: Western Sicily overview.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and distribution of the main risk factors associated to it focusing on their role in the development of deafness and their interaction. We performed a global audiological assessment (through TEOAE, tympanometry and ABR) in 508 infants at risk studying the main risk factors reported by Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (2007). Fifty-one infants (10.03 %) were diagnosed with SNHL (45 bilateral and 6 unilateral) with a mean hearing threshold of 87.39 ± 28.25 dB HL; family history of hearing impairment (HI) and TORCH infections indicated independent significant risk factors (P < 0.00001 and P = 0.0…

MENIERE’S DISEASE & NEUROVASCULAR CROSS-COMPRESSION: CASE REPORT

Meniere’s disease is typically characterized by the classic symptomatological triad consisting of vertigo associated with nausea and vomiting, fluctuating but progressive hearing loss, and tinnitus. The main pathophysiological substrate of Meniere's disease is certainly endolymphatic hydrops, the etiology of which is probably multifactorial, but still not completely understood. Recently, it has been shown that vertigo, hearing loss, and tinnitus can be the result of a vascular loop impinging on the VIIIth nerve and giving rise to the symptomatological complex that can been defined as Meniere's disease due to ‘cochleovestibular nerve compression syndrome’ (CNCS). In this cases the surgical t…

Distribution and phenotype ofGJB2mutations in 102 Sicilian patients with congenital non syndromic sensorineural hearing loss

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of GJB2 mutations and their correlation with phenotype in Sicilian non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss (NSHL) patients. Design: Sequencing of the coding region, basal promoter, exon 1, and donor splice site of the GJB2 gene; screening for the presence of the two common GJB6 deletions. Study sample: A cohort of 102 Sicilian NSHL patients. Results: Fifteen different mutations in GJB2 and seventeen different genotypes were detected. No GJB6 mutations were found. The hearing impairment was profound in the 64.72% of probands (mean PTA 0.25 – 4 kHz of 88.82 26.52 dB HL). A total of 81.37% of patients harboured at least one c.35delG allele; c.167delT and c…

Newborn hearing-screening project using transient evoked otoacoustic emissions: western sicily experience

Summary Objective To study the incidence of congenital sensorineural hearing loss in all newborns introducing a screen test with a protocol no expensive, with a good “screen sensitivity” that could let an earlier identification of hearing impairment beginning early intervention by 2 months of age and increasing the probability of having language development within the normal range of development. Methods The study was conducted in Sciacca hospital from the beginning of 2003 to our days and was carried out with transient evoked otoacoustic emission using the criteria for PASS or RETEST and considering eventual prenatal and perinatal risk factors. All the newborns were divided into four group…

Vascular loops causing otological symptoms and…: esperienza personale

Per conflitto neurovascolare (CNV) si intende la presenza di un contatto tra uno o più nervi cranici nel punto di emergenza dal tronco dell’encefalo e una struttura vascolare, arteriosa o venosa. Tale contatto può configurarsi come una “cross compression”, cioè come una compressione ad angolatura variabile tra le due strutture o come una compressione a “sandwich”, vale a dire un intrappolamento del nervo tra due strutture vascolari. Questo si verifica più frequentemente a livello della root entry zone (REZ), cioè di quella piccola porzione di nervo ubicata nelle immediatezze del tronco encefalico, ancora ricoperta dalla mielina centrale. Il CNV è responsabile dell’insorgenza di diversi quad…

Tinnitus: a vision for research

Tinnitus is classically defined as the perception of sound that has no external source. It was assumed to be primarily a disorder of the ear and has been linked to mechanisms equivalent to phantom pain; a pain sensation located to a no longer existing part of the body. Phantom pain is closely correlated with a cortical plasticity and with a reorganization of the somatosensory cortex. The end result is an alteration of neuronal activity, leading to tinnitus. Over the past decade, however, research on brain mechanisms of tinnitus has progressed rapidly, and insights have emerged into the possible neurological origins of tinnitus without any auditory dysfunction. Identification of the neurosci…

Sordità ereditaria recessiva e consanguineità: studio epidemiologico nella Sicilia Occidentale

Sordità neurosensoriale bilaterale da nuova mutazione del gene GBJ2 (D179H): recessiva o dominante? Preverbale o postlinguale?

RAZIONALE La sordità genetica nell’area del mediterraneo presenta valori di prevalenza molto più elevati rispetto ad altre zone ‘endemiche’ e nel 80% dei casi il gene responsabile è il GJB2. La conoscenza della corretta trasmissione genetica (autosomica recessiva, dominante, trasmissione variabile o co-segregazione con il gene GJB6) è di vitale importanza anche per stabilire il rischio percentuale di sordità per la progenie futura. Gli autori allora descrivono una mutazione del gene della connessina 26, parzialmente nuova, dove lo studio genetico familiare è dirimente per una trasmissione recessiva. MATERIALI E METODI In presenza di un soggetto affetto da sordità neurosensoriale bilaterale …

Le sordità ereditarie

Sordità neurosensoriale preverbale profonda isolata & impianto cocleare: esperienza personale

Negli ultimi anni si è assistito ad un crescente aumento delle indicazioni all’impianto cocleare (IC) nei bambini affetti da sordità preverbale profonda ed ad una parallela sempre maggiore precocità dell’intervento. Infatti un intervento precoce permette di ‘sfruttare’ al massimo i meccanismi di plasticità cerebrale e ridurre le alterazioni nello sviluppo dei network cerebrali legati al processamento del linguaggio dovuti alla deprivazione uditiva (principio “use it or lose it”). La valutazione delle capacità percettive verbali nei bambini di età inferiore ai due anni richiede metodologie dedicate a cogliere i prerequisiti o le prime abilità linguistiche. Per tali ragioni sono stati propost…

The Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome.

Deafness and electrocardiographic changes (prolongation of the Q-T interval and inversion of the T wave) with a clinical picture of syncopal attacks and sudden death, were described as a distinct syndrome by Jervell and Lange-Nielsen in 1957. The syndrome is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. In this study, all the cases reported since 1957 and their proposed prevalence are reviewed. The authors describe the 4 cases they have studied, all of which presented congenital sensorineural hearing loss and electrocardiographic changes characteristic of the syndrome. The relatively high number of cases they have encountered casts doubt on literature that states that the syndrome occurs more …

Otitis media with effusion with or without atopy: audiological findings on primary schoolchildren

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the role of atopy in otitis media with effusion (OME) in children attending primary school, focusing on the audiometric and tympanometric measurements among atopic and nonatopic subjects suffering from OME. Materials and Methods: Three hundred ten children (5-6 years old) were screened in Western Sicily by skin tests and divided into atopics (G1) and nonatopics (G2). The samples were evaluated for OME by pneumatic otoscopy, tympanogram, and acoustic reflex tests. The parameters considered were as follows: documented persistent middle ear effusion by otoscopic examination for a minimum of 3 months, presence of B or C tympanogram, absence …

Sindrome dell’acquedotto vestibolare largo: esperienza personale e revisione della letteratura

Essential of audiology: screening and postscreening

Newborn hearing screening is a type of screening testfor the early detection of hearing loss. It can recognizewith good accuracy newborns affected by hearingimpairment allowing an early diagnosis and interventionand avoiding cognitive and linguistic deficits [1-6].The incidence of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss(SNHL) in Sicily is 2.35 cases per 1000 newborns; thisvalue increases to 2.95 if we consider also unilateral SNHL[2,3] and to 10 cases per 1000 births among infants at risk[7-9].A correct newborn hearing screening programme isbased on different protocols depending on the presence/absence of audiologic risk factors:† Newborns without risk factors: [1-3]Initial Hearing Screening (…

Risk factors for otitis media with effusion: Case–control study in Sicilian schoolchildren

Objective To identify the prevalence and demographic, maternal and child risk factors for otitis media with effusion (OME) in Sicilian schoolchildren and analyse the results with reference to the review of the literature. Methods Associations of possible risk factors with prevalence of otitis media with effusion (OME) were studied in a cohort of 2097 children, aged 5–14 years. In order to determine OME, otoscopy and tympanometry were performed at 3-monthly intervals beginning at term date. Sixteen epidemiologically relevant features were inventoried by means of standardized questionnaires and skin tests were performed. Univariate analysis was performed to examine the association between det…

Clinical observations and risk factors for tinnitus in a Sicilian cohort.

The aims of this study were to determine the distribution of risk factors associated with tinnitus analysing their role in the development of tinnitus and the effects of their interaction; to evidence the importance of a suitable and adequate clinical and audiologic assessment to avoid those modifiable risk factors responsible for cochlear dysfunction and tinnitus onset. 46 subjects with tinnitus and 74 controls were studied according to: age, sex, Body Mass Index (BMI), neck circumference, tobacco smoking, feeling fatigue or headache, self reporting snoring, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and/or hyperlipidemia, and laboratory finding as lipid profile and levels of reactive…

The point prevalence of otitis media with eVusion among primary school children in Western Sicily

The objective of this study is to identify the prevalence of otitis media with effusion (OME) in primary school children and to value the possible predisposing factors focusing on relationship between allergy and OME in Western Sicily. 2,097 children attending primary school were screened from September 2006 to June 2007 in Sciacca. Children underwent pneumatic otoscopy, skin tests, tympanogram and acoustic reflex tests. Audiogram was performed if the child had a type B or a type C tympanogram. The criteria for diagnosis of OME were: documented persistent middle ear effusion by otoscopic examination for a minimum of 3 months, presence of B or C tympanogram, absence of ipsilateral acoustic r…

Audiologic profile of infants at risk: experience of a Western Sicily tertiary care centre.

Objective: To identify the incidence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) on infant at risk and to classify the degree and type of hearing loss describing the main causes associated in Western Sicily. To compare single TEOAE and combined TEOAE/ABR techniques studying the referral rate, the false-positive and false-negative rates through concordance test (κ coefficient), sensitivity (TPR) and specificity (TNR) for each protocol. Methods: From January 2010 to June 2011, 412 infants at risk, ranging from 4 to 20 weeks of life, transferred to Audiology Department of Palermo from the births centers of Western Sicily, underwent to audiological assessment with TEOAE, tympanometry and ABR. The foll…

Characteristics of tinnitus with or without hearing loss: Clinical observations in Sicilian tinnitus patients

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of tinnitus both in normal hearing subjects and in patients with hearing loss. Methods: The study considered 312 tinnitus sufferers, 176 males and 136 females, ranging from 21 to 83 years of age, who were referred to the Audiology Section of the Department of Bio-technology of Palermo University. The following parameters were considered: age, sex, hearing threshold, tinnitus laterality, tinnitus duration, tinnitus measurements and subjective disturbance caused by tinnitus. The sample was divided into two groups: Group 1 (G1) subjects with normal hearing; Group 2 (G2) subjects with hearing loss. Results: Among the patients considered, 115 ha…

Sindrome dell'acquedotto vestibolare largo ed ossigeno-terapia iperbarica (HBO): caso clinico

Effetti dei campi elettromagnetici sull’udito valutati mediante ABR: risultati preliminari

Importanza del ruolo delle OAE nell’accertamento degli acufeni in età infantile.

EMORRAGIA IN TUMOR DA NEURINOMA DELL’VIII N.C. & SIMDROMI PARALITICHE ANTERIORE E POSTERIORE IMPROVVISA: SEMEIOTICA RADIOLOGICA

Gli autori riportano un raro caso clinico di una paziente di 77 anni che giunge alla nostra osservazione in regime di urgenza per vertigine improvvisa associata a nausea e vomito, stato confusionale, atassia, paralisi completa del VI nervo cranico di destra con strabismo convergente, segni di sofferenza del IX, X ed XI nervo cranico omolaterali all’abducente e iniziale comparsa di segni statici e dinamici di paralisi periferica del VII nervo cranico di destra. L’insorgenza improvvisa di Sindromi paralitiche associate, anteriori e posteriori, ha indirizzato verso il sospetto di lesione occupante spazio a sede in fossa cranica posteriore/tronco encefalo richiedendo pertanto l’ausilio della di…

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss as prodromal symptom of anterior inferior cerebellar artery infarction.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is a clinical condition characterized by a sudden onset of unilateral or bilateral hearing loss. In recent years sudden deafness has been frequently described in association with anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) infarction generally presenting along with other brainstem and cerebellar signs such as ataxia, dysmetria and peripheral facial palsy. The authors report a rare clinical case of a 53-year-old man who suddenly developed hearing loss and tinnitus without any brainstem or cerebellar signs. Computed tomography of his brain was normal, and the audiological results localized the lesion causing deafness to the inner ear. Surprisingly, magnetic re…

SINDROME DELL'ACQUEDOTTO VESTIBOLARE LARGO E OSSIGENO TERAPIA IPERBARICA. CASO CLINICO

Tinnitus e Sordità

OBIETTIVI Con il termine di "Acufene" o "Tinnitus" definiamo la percezione di un rumore in assenza di qualunque sorgente sonora esterna al nostro organismo. La presenza di acufeni aumenta progressivamente con l'età (12% dopo i 60 anni), e questo, secondo gli Autori, non è tanto correlato con la senescenza quanto con la concomitante sordità, la cui prevalenza aumenta con l'età. L'obiettivo di questo studio è quello di mettere in evidenza la correlazione fra il tipo di sordità e il tipo di acufene. MATERIALI Lo studio è stato condotto dalla Sezione di Audiologia del Dipartimento di Bio‐technologie dell'Università di Palermo su 197 soggetti affetti da acufene e sordità. I pazienti sono stati s…

Studio sull’efficacia terapeutica dell’Arlevertan in associazione con l’Otofisk in presenza di una sintomatologia vertiginosa e di acufene legati ad un danno delle vie audio-vestibolari (periferiche e centrali) da probabile causa vascolare

Speech perception outcomes after cochlear implantation in prelingually deaf infants: The Western Sicily experience

Objectives: To describe audiometric characteristics and speech perception performances of prelingually deaf Sicilian children after cochlear implantation; to identify the influence of cochlear implant (CI) user and family's characteristics on speech recognition and intelligibility outcomes. Methods: Twenty-eight infants with a congenital or acquired hearing impairment and implanted before the 3rd year of life were studied; all children suffered from bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) with evidence of lack of hearing aids benefit and no evidence of intellectual disability. The study of the main characteristics associated with CI user and family's profile was performed with a clinica…

Investigation of Tinnitus Patients in Italy: Clinical and Audiological Characteristics

Objective. 312 tinnitus sufferers were studied in order to analyze: the clinical characteristics of tinnitus; the presence of tinnitus-age correlation and tinnitus-hearing loss correlation; the impact of tinnitus on subjects' life and where possible the etiological/predisposing factors of tinnitus.Results. There is a slight predominance of males. The highest percentage of tinnitus results in the decades 61–70. Of the tinnitus sufferers, 197 (63.14%) have a hearing deficit (light hearing loss in 37.18% of cases). The hearing impairment results of sensorineural type in 74.62% and limited to the high frequencies in 58.50%. The tinnitus is referred as unilateral in 59.93%, a pure tone in 66.99%…

“SINDROME DI BECHET, CELIACHIA E DIABETE MELLITO DI I TIPO”: ....RARO CASO A TIPIZZAZIONE ANOMALA

La malattia di Behcet è una malattia rara, a genesi autoimmune, multifattoriale ad esordio tra la seconda e la terza decade di vita, a più elevata incidenza nei cosiddetti territori della via della seta (Medio Oriente) oltre che, nel Bacino del Mediterraneo. In Europa la prevalenza è 1:500.000 con maggiore incidenza nel sesso femminile. Clinicamente è caratterizzata da lesioni ulcerose ricorrenti del cavo orale che si accompagnano a ulcere genitali o lesioni cutanee, oculari o Pathergy Test positivo . Il "Behcet's Disease International Study Group" ha identificato nella presenza di ulcere del cavo orale associate a due delle lesioni sovracitate la diagnosi clinica di malattia di Behcet. Nel…

ACUFENI: EPIDEMIOLOGIA.

Prelingual sensorineural hearing loss and infants at risk: Western Sicily report.

Objective: To evaluate independent etiologic factor associated with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in newborn at risk; to study the role of their interaction especially in NICU infants who present often multiple risk factors for SNHL. Methods: The main risk factors for SNHL reported by JCIH 2007 were evaluated on 508 infant at risk ranging from 4 to 20 weeks of life, transferred to the Audiology Department of Palermo from the main births centers of Western Sicily. After a global audiological assessment, performed with TEOAE, tympanometry and ABR, the prevalence and the effect of risk factors was statistically studied through univariate and multivariate analysis on the total population (n…

Mobile phone and auditory system: update

The aim of this study is to asses the non-thermal effects of the electromagnetic fields generated by 915 MHz GSM cellular phones on the human cochlear activity using transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE). The study was carried on 205 young and healthy volunteers (age 18-30 years) with normal hearing which were randomly divided into two samples consisting of 85 (Gcase) and 120 (Gcontrol) respectively. The first one was exposed to genuine 10 minutes of GSM electromagnetic fields while the second, undergone sham exposure, was considered as control group for the statistical investigations. All the participants were blind to the genuine or sham exposure. The TEOAEs were measured in the …

Assessing audiological, pathophysiological and psychological variables in tinnitus patients with or without hearing loss

The aim of this work is to study the characteristics of tinnitus both in normal hearing subjects and in patients with hearing loss. The study considered tinnitus sufferers, ranging from 21 to 83 years of age, who were referred to the Audiology Section of Palermo University in the years 2006–2008. The following parameters were considered: age, sex, hearing threshold, tinnitus laterality, tinnitus duration, tinnitus measurements and subjective disturbance caused by tinnitus. The sample was divided into Group1 (G1), 115 subjects with normal hearing, and Group2 (G2), 197 subjects with hearing loss. Especially for G2, there was a predominance of males compared to females (P = 0.011); the highest…

On the threshold of effective well infant nursery hearing screening in Western Sicily.

Abstract Objective To determine the feasibility and effectiveness of well-infant nursery hearing screening programme for the early identification of hearing impairment, based on transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) with a high “screen sensitivity” reducing the number of more expensive secondary level exams. Methods The newborns were screened by non-specialist health workers in well babies nursery at the twentieth day of life for 6 years consecutive. Based on PASS/FAIL criteria and presence/absence of audiological risk factors the newborns were divided into four groups each one with its personal step programme: G1 – PASS without risk factor, free to go home; G2 – PASS with risk fact…