The aim of this study was to assess all relevant aspects of auditory function, including acuity and perception, of a cohort of extremely low birth weight (1000 g) children who survived to 8 years of age; 42 of the 59 consecutive survivors born over a 4-year period from January 1, 1977, had a full auditory assessment. Of the 42 children, 4 (9.5%) had a sensorineural hearing impairment, 5 (11.9%) had a conductive hearing impairment, 24 (57.1%) had figure/ground differentiation problems, and 20 (47.6%) had a short-term auditory memory problem. The 4 children with sensorineural hearing impairments had had significantly higher maximum concentrations of bilirubin in the newborn period (median 167 μmol/L vs 138 μmol/L and had required more intensive care; at 8 years of age they were significantly disadvantaged in verbal ability. The 5 children with conductive hearing impairments were not significantly different on any perinatal or other 8-year outcome variables. The proportion with figure/ground differentiation problems (57.1%) was significantly higher than in a normative population (11.7%,χ2 = 24.2). Extremely low birth weight children with figure/ground differentiation problems were more likely to be restless in the classroom (45.0% [9/20]) than those without these problems (16.7% [2/12]), but the difference was not statistically significant (χ2 = 2.7). Children with short-term auditory memory problems had significantly higher maximum bilirubin concentrations in the newborn period (median 152 μmol/L vs 137. μmol/L). At 8 years of age they had significantly reduced intelligence and reading ability. Even though the cohort is small, there is sufficient evidence that audiologic assessment of extremely low birth weight children should extend beyond just threshold measures of hearing acuity.
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机译：本研究的目的是评估存活至8岁的极低出生体重（<1000 g）儿童的听觉功能的所有相关方面，包括敏锐度和知觉。从1977年1月1日开始的4年内出生的59名连续幸存者中，有42名接受了全面的听觉评估。在这42名儿童中，有4名（9.5％）有感觉神经性听力障碍，5名（11.9％）有传导性听力障碍，24名（57.1％）有身材/地面差异问题，20名（47.6％）有短期听觉记忆问题。 4名患有感音神经性听力障碍的儿童在新生儿期的最大胆红素浓度明显较高（中位167μmol/ L vs 138μmol/ L，需要更深入的监护;在8岁时，他们的言语能力显着下降。 5名有传导性听力障碍的儿童在任何围产期或其他8年结局变量上均无显着差异，具有身材/地面差异问题的比例（57.1％）显着高于正常人群（11.7％，χ2= 24.2）。 。有身材/地面差异问题的极低出生体重儿童比没有这些问题的儿童（16.7％[2/12]）更容易在教室里躁动不安（45.0％[9/20]），但差异没有统计学上具有统计学意义（χ2= 2.7）。有短期听觉记忆障碍的儿童在新生儿期的最大胆红素浓度明显更高（中位152μmol/ L vs 137.μmol/ L），在8岁时他们的年龄已大大降低了智力和阅读能力。即使队列很小，也有足够的证据表明，对极低出生体重儿童的听力学评估应超出听力阈值的标准范围。
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