The study, published in the scientific journal Heliyon, has been awarded at the 75th National Congress of the Spanish Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery
The Torrejón University Hospital, belonging to the public network of the Community of Madrid, has carried out a study that rules out that COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is related to hearing loss in newborns.
This study, published in the magazine Heliyon, was carried out with a sample of 90 newborns whose mothers had tested positive for coronavirus during pregnancy, with the aim of providing valuable information on children’s auditory development.
Thanks to this article, awarded this Saturday at the 75th National Congress of the Spanish Society of Otorhinolaryngology, It is ruled out that there is evidence to support the inclusion of COVID-19 as a risk factor for hearing loss in childhood.
Images: Torrejón Hospital.
Given the similarity between COVID-19 and other types of infections that have been associated with hearing loss in newborns, the Otorhinolaryngology service of the Torrejonero center, together with the Francisco de Vitoria University, has studied the evidence of its effects on fetal development and possible complications in terms of hearing anomalies.
The tests carried out at the Torrejón University Hospital showed hearing alterations in a small group of newborns, specifically 5.5%. However, when evaluating its development a year later, These alterations were no longer present, ruling out a hearing problem.
The study showed that the majority of babies experienced normal and stable auditory development, in addition to ensuring that all newborns had hearing levels well below 30 decibels, which is considered a good hearing range. These findings revealed by the study at the Torrejón University Hospital rule out notable differences with newborns whose mothers had not been infected by COVID, The Torrejonero center has reported.
