Newborn Hearing Test May Predict SIDS

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Recent research has identified a potential link between hearing function and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A study revealed that infants who later succumbed to SIDS exhibited significantly lower inner ear function in their right ear compared to their left, a finding not typically observed in healthy infants. While these results suggest a possible association between inner ear damage and impaired breathing control, the findings do not confirm that hearing tests can reliably predict SIDS risk. Further research is planned to explore this connection. Additionally, some participants in the discussion referenced historical beliefs about SIDS, noting that cases reportedly declined after changes in infant sleep recommendations in the 1980s and 1990s.
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...We've found for the first time that there's something going on in the hearing of SIDS babies," he says. "This is totally new and we've never had this before."

His study found that the group of newborns who later died from SIDS shared the same hearing tests results. The scores, reflecting inner ear function, were significantly lower in the right ear than in the left, something not usually seen in healthy infants. [continued]
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/30/eveningnews/main3115525.shtml

...The findings don't prove that hearing tests will identify babies at risk for SIDS. So the researchers plan further studies to investigate what they describe as a "potential association" between inner ear damage and breathing control.[continued]
http://children.webmd.com/news/20070727/newborn-hearing-test-may-predict-sids
 
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Hmmm, I was under the assumption that SIDS was caused by ignorant doctors in the 60's and 70's telling new mothers that they should put their babies face-down to sleep and they were suffocating. Didn't SIDS cases drop in the 80's and 90's?

Of course, I could be the ignorant one... :rolleyes::biggrin:
 
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