One of the most severe complications of fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT), a disorder in which maternal antibodies in a pregnant woman are passed onto the fetus, is intracranial hemorrhage, also known as bleeding in the brain.
Brain bleeds can result in severe consequences, one of which is hearing loss. Here’s what you should know about hearing loss associated with FNAIT.
What is FNAIT?
Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) is a rare but serious condition that affects 0.1% of pregnancies in which a pregnant mother’s immune system produces antibodies against the platelets of her fetus. This occurs when a fetus inherits platelet antigens from the father that are not compatible with the mother, typically involving a protein called human platelet antigen (HPA). The mother’s immune system recognizes the fetal platelets as foreign, attacking and destroying them, leading to low platelet levels (thrombocytopenia) in the fetus or newborn.
What causes hearing loss in FNAIT?
Intracranial hemorrhage is the primary cause of hearing loss associated with FNAIT.
There are auditory processing centers located in or adjacent to the brain. Should these auditory processing centers be compromised by bleeding, the child may lose their ability to hear.
The likelihood for a patient to experience underlying hearing loss is associated with the intensity of the intracranial hemorrhage. Infants who experience substantial intracranial hemorrhage are likely to experience neurological complications, including hearing loss.
Read more about FNAIT overview
Signs of hearing loss in infants
If you suspect your infant may have hearing loss, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention lists some signs to watch out for. You may want to get your infant’s hearing checked if he or she:
- Does not startle at loud noises.
- Does not turn to the source of a sound after six months of age.
- Does not say single words, such as “dada” or “mama” by one year of age.
- Turns head when he or she sees you but not if you only call out his or her name. This sometimes is mistaken for not paying attention or just ignoring, but could be the result of a partial or complete hearing loss.
- Seems to hear some sounds but not others.
Hearing loss due to FNAIT is unlikely
Hearing loss resulting from FNAIT remains a relatively rare condition. This is because doctors typically initiate timely treatment upon detecting a diagnosis of FNAIT, blunting the effects of intracranial hemorrhage and preventing the complications that may arise from untreated intracranial hemorrhage.
In FNAIT, doctors will try to limit the risk of severe bleeding. Given that auditory complications arise as a result of severe bleeding, any action taken to limit the severity of bleeding can help prevent complications such as hearing loss.
