Hearing loss in high-risk neonates — clinical case

Case summary

This extremely preterm infant carries a heavy stack of JCIH risk indicators — prolonged NICU stay, repeated ototoxic exposure, severe hyperbilirubinaemia requiring exchange, and prolonged ventilation — and she has correctly been screened with automated auditory brainstem response rather than otoacoustic emissions. The clinical insight the case tests is that a bilateral refer is not yet a diagnosis but a commitment to diagnostic follow-up, and that the high-risk infant is the one in whom auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder must be suspected and for whom surveillance continues even if a later screen passes. ^{[1] [2]}