Aspiring to continuously upgrade and fine tune the services it offers, IASO Thessalias is investing in the new easyScreen BERAphone® device for otoacoustic emissions and auditory brainstem response to evoked potentials.

The IASO Thessalias 1st ENT Clinic is headed by ENT Professor Emeritus Ioannis Bizakis, assisted by ENT specialists C. Korais, K. Giangas, D. Batagkionis and D. Kostarelos, and focuses especially on investigating hearing loss in neonates and children, and delayed speech. The Clinic carries out all the necessary exams, as specified in the universal neonatal hearing screening (UNHS) programs. Acquiring a new, baby-friendly device further enhances the investigation of neonatal hearing. The easyScreen BERAphone® with its patented ABR and integrated electrodes, combines detection of evoked potentials and otoacoustic emissions in one device. The CE-Chirp® stimuli and response detection algorithm provide reliable results in just a few minutes.

Hearing loss is among the most prevalent congenital disorders in neonates. It is estimated that 1 in 2 out of 1000 neonates are born with severe bilateral hearing loss, while a higher rate of neonates exhibit less severe hearing loss, unilateral or bilateral. As a matter of fact, this rate increases by about 1 in 100 neonates when they are admitted and hospitalized in Intensive Care Units for more than 48 hours.

The first few weeks in the life of a neonate are extremely crucial in terms of early diagnosis of hearing impediments. According to studies, treatment interventions in the first six months of life are linked to the best possible prognosis, speech development and communication in general later on in life, a fact that automatically signals the smooth socialization and development of the child.

These render the need for universal application of newborn hearing screening tests indisputable. These screening tests are based on simple examination of otoacoustic emissions (OAE) and performance of automatic auditory brainstem response (AABR). Both tests are painless and safe, and are performed on neonates when they are asleep. When the tests are performed in the first few days after delivery, they can be concluded in just a few seconds.