Hearing loss is common after infant heart surgery

Children who have heart surgery as infants are at risk for hearing loss, coupled with associated risks for language, attention and cognitive problems, by age four. In a cohort of 348 preschoolers who survived cardiac surgery, researchers found hearing loss in about 21 percent, a rate 20 times higher than is found in the general population. This underscores the importance of early hearing evaluations in young children who undergo heart surgery.