HEARING IMPAIRMENT AND CMV INFECTION IN YOUNG CHILDREN

该项目的主要目标是确定流行率， 感音神经性听力进展性和/或延迟性发作的年龄 SNHL最有可能发生在婴儿和幼儿中， 先天性巨细胞病毒（CMV）感染。我们的项目还将定义 预测CMV感染者SNHL的新生儿期危险因素 无临床明显疾病的婴儿。我们的第三个目标将定义 巨细胞病毒感染对迟发性听力损失的相对作用 人口。这些目标将通过查明所有新生儿 先天性巨细胞病毒感染，从大学医院和连续 测试他们在不同年龄段的听力敏感度。还有， 两个随机选择的CMV阴性新生儿对照组， 通过新生儿听力筛查，一个从风险标准为基础的筛查 另一个来自于健康的托儿所，将被跟踪和比较 CMV阳性但出生时无听力损失的儿童。所有出生的婴儿 目前正在进行先天性病毒学筛查 CMV感染由研究者提出这一建议。 在第三周，第三，第六， 到12个月大时，每个CMV阳性婴儿将有一个完整的 由临床听力学家进行的听力学评估，包括 听觉脑干诱发反应（ABR）和导抗测量， 耳朵 此外，每个孩子将在18岁时进行完整的听力评估， 24个月和30个月大，包括行为测听 评估（视觉强化或游戏测听）和导抗 测量纯音听阈、语言接收阈和 言语辨别力得分。对照组将接受类似的 在6、12和18个月大时进行听力学评估。我们的建议将 更好地了解SNHL的流行病学和自然史 由于CMV。这些信息对于规划早期检测和 婴幼儿SNHL的干预策略

The primary objective of this project is to determine the prevalence and the ages when progressive and/or delayed onset of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is most likely to occur in infants and young children due to congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Our project will also define risk factors in the newborn period that predict SNHL in CMV infected infants without clinically apparent disease. Our third aim will define the relative contribution of CMV infection to delayed onset hearing loss in the population. These aims will be achieved by identifying all newborns with congenital CMV infection from University Hospital and serially testing them to evaluate their hearing sensitivity at various ages. Also, two randomly selected control groups of newborns who are CMV negative and pass a newborn auditory screen, one from the risk criteria based screening and the other from the well baby nurseries, will be followed and compared to CMV positive children without hearing loss at birth. All infants born at University Hospital are currently screened virologically for congenital CMV infection by the investigators of this proposal. At 3 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months of age, each CMV positive infant will have a complete audiological evaluation by a clinical audiologist that will include an auditory brainstem evoked response (ABR) and immittance measures for each ear. Also, each child will have a complete audiological evaluation at 18, 24 and 30 months of age that will include behavioral audiometric assessment (visual reinforcement or play audiometry) and immittance measures to obtain pure tone thresholds, speech reception thresholds and speech discrimination scores. The control groups will receive similar audiological evaluations at 6, 12, and 18 months of age. Our proposal will provide better knowledge of the epidemiology and natural history of SNHL due to CMV. This information is essential for planning early detection and intervention strategies for SNHL in infants and young children.