Progressive sensorineural hearing loss in survivors of persistent fetal circulation.

The purpose of this study was to discover whether sensorineural hearing loss was a significant complication in survivors of persistent fetal circulation. Eleven patients were followed to 36 months. Hearing assessments were performed on at least two occasions using brain stem auditory evoked response testing and behavioral audiometry. Three of 11 babies had bilateral, progressive sensorineural hearing loss. No clear relationship could be found between hearing loss and any of the clinical variables examined in this study.