Click and chirp evoked auditory brainstem responses in infants whose mothers had COVID-19 during pregnancy

Sangamanatha Ankmnal Veeranna; Charles Gordon Marx

doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2026.112871

Click and chirp evoked auditory brainstem responses in infants whose mothers had COVID-19 during pregnancy

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2026 Jul:206:112871. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2026.112871. Epub 2026 May 25.

Authors

Sangamanatha Ankmnal Veeranna¹, Charles Gordon Marx²

Affiliations

¹ School of Speech and Hearing Sciences, The College of Nursing Health and Professions, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, United States. Electronic address: s.ankmnalveeranna@usm.edu.
² School of Speech and Hearing Sciences, The College of Nursing Health and Professions, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, United States.

PMID: 42208271
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2026.112871

Abstract

Aim: Recent studies have reported that COVID-19 and its complications during pregnancy are not a risk for hearing loss. However, there is limited research on examining auditory brainstem response (ABR) latencies in infants whose mothers had COVID-19 during pregnancy. Hence, in this study, ABRs were recorded using condensation and rarefaction click polarities, as well as for CE-Chirp® stimuli, in infants whose mothers had COVID-19 during pregnancy and those whose mothers did not.

Methods: In total, 27 infants whose mothers had COVID-19 during pregnancy and 32 infants whose mothers did not report COVID-19 during pregnancy participated in this study. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were recorded. ABRs (at 70 dB nHL) for the click stimulus were recorded using condensation and rarefaction polarities. Whereas the ABRs for the CE-Chirp® stimuli were recorded only for rarefaction polarity. Absolute peak latencies (I, III, and V), I-V interpeak intervals, peak-to-peak amplitudes (I and V), and amplitude ratios (V/I) were examined.

Results: DPOAEs were similar between groups. ABR analyses showed no differences in peak I latencies between groups, but absolute latencies of peak III and V and I-V interpeak intervals for both condensation and rarefaction click polarities were significantly different between groups. Peak I amplitudes for both click polarities were similar between groups, but peak V amplitudes were significantly smaller in infants of mothers with COVID-19 during pregnancy. Peak I latencies of CE-Chirp® evoked ABRs were similar between groups, but latencies of III and V and I-V interpeak intervals were significantly prolonged in infants of mothers with COVID-19 during pregnancy, compared to those without.

Conclusion: ABRs were atypical, regardless of the stimulus polarities or type in infants whose mothers had COVID-19 during pregnancy. Along with threshold assessment, the audiologist should prioritize evaluating ABRs recorded at higher intensity levels.

Keywords: ABR; CE-Chirp®; COVID-19; Click; Condensation; Rarefaction.

MeSH terms

Acoustic Stimulation / methods
Adult
COVID-19* / complications
Case-Control Studies
Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem* / physiology
Female
Hearing Loss* / diagnosis
Hearing Loss* / virology
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Male
Maternal Exposure* / adverse effects
Neonatal Screening / methods
Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious* / virology
SARS-CoV-2