Exploring Hearing Loss in Newborns in the Southern Hospital, Vietnam, 2015–2016

Abstract

Permanent hearing loss is one of the major risks affecting hearing ability, developing language skills, learning, and
integration into the community, and is a burden on society. This study was conducted to survey the birth rate of hearingimpaired infants in the pediatric obstetric hospital in a southern province of Vietnam and assess risk factors related to
hearing loss. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on the subjects of hearing screening at Ca Mau General
Hospital in the period October 2015 to December 2016.
The rate of newborn hearing loss in 2015–2016 in the study is 0.98%. Among affected newborns, both ears were affected in
most cases (66%), males (53.2%) were affected more than females (46.8%), 10.64% had a mother with a history of
influenza, 6.38% were born to mothers with a history of typhus, 17.02% had a maternal history of rubella, and 10.64% had
a maternal history of measles. Mothers’ history of influenza, rubella, measles, pre-eclampsia, birthweight, premature birth,
prolonged ventilation (oxygen breathing), and jaundice affect hearing loss in their children. In particular, when the mother
has pre-eclampsia, the child is 52.6 mean times more likely to have hearing loss (26.5–104.2) than a mother without a
history of pre-eclampsia, and a mother with rubella during pregnancy is 38.8 times more likely than a mother without to
have a child with hearing loss.
This study determines the rate of hearing loss in newborn babies in a provincial hospital and examines the factors
associated with hearing loss in children. Data from the study form an important reference in the development of health care
programs in Vietnam.