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Below
is a list of risk factors, or things that may be associated
with an infant/child’s hearing loss:
- Family
history of childhood hearing loss
-
Infection during pregnancy (rubella, cytomegalovirus/CMV,
syphilis, herpes, or toxoplasmosis)
-
Birth defects of the head and neck (for example, deformed
outer ear)
-
Low birth weight (under 3.3 pounds)
-
Jaundice or yellowing of the skin at birth (Hyperbilirubinemia)
-
Bacterial meningitis (illness)
-
Medicines that affect the ear (ototoxic)
-
Respirator (mechanical ventilation) for more than five days
-
Apgar scores of 0 to 4 at one minute or 0 to 6 at five minutes.
(This score is given at the time of birth to figure out
the newborn’s condition. The score comes from evaluating
the newborn’s heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle
tone, reflex irritability, and color. A score of 0 to 2 is
related on each of the five items, the highest possible score
being 10.)
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