Hearing Impairment in Babies Born to Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Introduction: The earlier the hearing loss in a child, the more difficult will it be for the child to achieve optimal development and lead a normal life. This study is directed toward early identification of deafness in neonates born to gestational diabetic mothers that help in the early rehabilitation of the child. Materials and Methods: Around 50 infants born to mothers with gestational diabetes were taken and screened after obtaining consent from parents and clearance from the ethics committee. Neonates born to gestational diabetic mothers in Father Muller Medical College were included. Critically ill neonates, neonates with hyperbilirubinemia, family history of deafness, use of ototoxic drugs, and low APGAR score babies (<6) were excluded. Detailed family history and information of the patients were obtained. The occupation of both parents, family income, and consanguinity was noted. It was also observed if the antenatal mother has attended ANC clinic regularly. Results: A longitudinal descriptive study was conducted on 50 infants born to gestational diabetic mothers. Hearing loss was assessed using distortion product otoacoustic emission. The majority of gestational diabetic mothers were homemakers followed by salesgirls. The other occupations also included Anganwadi workers, beedi workers, manual laborers, tailors, and farmers. The list also included cooks, hotel receptionist, office assistant, and floor manager. Most of the fathers were drivers ( n = 10) followed by farmers. The list also included fishermen, manual laborers, painters, salesmen, security personnel, waiters, tailors, teachers, office assistants as well as storekeepers. Conclusion: Our study assessed if there was a correlation between hearing loss in infants and gestational diabetes. Hence, in our study, we found that there may not be any relationship between hearing loss and diabetes in pregnancy.