Breastfeeding results in better hearing in newborns compared to bottle-feeding
Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) is a validated technique in newborn hearing screening that is regularly used in many countries. It reflects normal hearing or at least no more than 30 dB HL hearing loss. Breastfeeding has many advantages and some studies have demonstrated that it prevents otitis media by means of opening the Eustachian tube and clearing mucus in middle ear which is perhaps also combined with immunological effects. A few studies have related how newborn feeding can vary the pass rate to TEOAE. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between newborn feeding and TEOAE newborn hearing screening results. Data were retrospectively collected from healthy vaginally delivered newborns of gestational age > 37 weeks and body weight > 2.5 kg at the maternity ward. Newborn feeding history was compared with the pass rate to TEOAE performed within the first 48 hours of life. Results: the study group included 12,866 newborns. In this group, significant differences were found based on the feeding method (breastfeeding was found to be better than formula, p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Breastfeeding improves newborn hearing screening results with TEOAE.
The relevance for patients lies in the fact that breastfed children respond better to the test and need to repeat it fewer times avoiding problems like loss to follow-up and additional work.
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