Heart rate response to auditory stimuli can be reliable elicited in normal newborn
infants under appropriate conditions and was therefore evaluated in terms of its possible
usefulness for hearing screening in this population. After development of a stimulus
and procedure for eliciting this response, a series of newborn infants was screened.
There were two conclusions: 1. the level of stimulation required to elicit a response
suggests that this method does not yield sufficient information to be useful in the
newborn period, although at 6 weeks post term it is useful, and 2. the neuroanatomical
route for heart rate change in response to auditory stimulation does not require the
presence of functional temporal cortex, and may therefore be clinically useful in
differentiating between peripheral and central deafness.
Newborn - hearing screening - heart rate
