Division of Otorhinolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, University of Montreal, Otology and Neurotology, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center (CHUSJ) and University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM), Montreal, QC, Canada. Electronic address: issam.saliba@umontreal.ca.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate hearing in children diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome.
METHODS: A retrospective study conducted in a pediatric tertiary care center between 2006 and 2012. Children diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome were included for hearing evaluation by conventional audiometry, distortion product otoacoustic emissions and auditory brainstem responses.
RESULTS: Twenty-eight children were included (22 boys and 6 girls). The mean age of children at presentation was 8 months (range 1-26 months) and the mean delay before audiometric evaluation was 30 months (range 1-87 months). One child was diagnosed as having a moderate sensorineural hearing loss. The tympanic membrane mobility was normal (type A) for both ears in 22 children, one child had a reduced tympanic mobility in one ear, two children had a negative pressure, one child had a functional trans-tympanic tube and test was not performed in 2 patients.
CONCLUSION: This is the first study reporting hearing loss as a possible result of shaken baby syndrome. However, further studies with larger number of children would be preferable. We recommend hearing evaluation for these children to rule out hearing loss.