This study sought to examine if modern medical evaluations including newborn screening and early diagnosis along with better methods of disease control have improved rates of hearing loss in children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Audiometric and medical data for patients with SCD was obtained from the AudGen Database and analyzed for the presence of hearing loss, type of hearing loss, severity of hearing loss, and correlation with comorbid conditions. Children with sickle cell trait (SCT) were used as a comparison group. A total of 189 patients with SCD and 244 patients with SCT had sufficient audiologic data available. Hearing loss was present in 62% of children with SCD and 50% of children with SCT in the study population. Patients with SCD were significantly more likely than those with SCT to have a sensorineural component to their hearing loss (P<0.001, odds ratio: 2.41 [1.53 to 3.79]) and to have severe or profound hearing loss (P=0.02, odds ratio: 4.00 [1.14 to 14.04]). The true prevalence of hearing loss in children with SCD has not been established as routine screening is not being performed. Routine auditory testing should be done for these children to detect this loss before it impacts development.
