Hearing’s effects in infants with gastroesophageal reflux

Abstract

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in considered as the return of gastric and/or duodenal contents and/or into the esophagus. Among the possible manifestations of GERD, are recurrent otitis media, ear pain, drooling, esophagitis, hoarseness, vomiting, regurgitation, choking, dysphagia, odynophagia, heartburn, difficulty in feeding, among others. The aim of this study was to determine possible alterations in infants with less than 6 months of age, both genders, and that suffered no complications during the prenatal, perinatal and postnatal, with diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease and no risk factors to the development of deafness. The information was found from medical records of infants who were treated in 2008 in the field of Audiology Clinic at the clinic school, in the project of Newborn Hearing Screening. The results showed that in both ears a higher rate of absence of otoacoustic emission distortion products occurred at a frequency of 2 kHz, followed by the frequency of 5 kHz, which also showed an absence of at least one ear. It was concluded that the characterization of the record of otoacoustic emission distortion products in individuals with gastroesophageal reflux showed positive relationship between the presence of gastroesophageal reflux and the reductions of the amplitude of otoacoustic emission distortion products in the frequency ranges of 2 and 5 kHz.