Neonatal screening for hearing impairment

Abstract

Congenital permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) has serious adverse effects on the child and on society, so its early detection is important. 1 Joint Committee on Infant Hearing 1994 position statement. ASHA. 1994; 36: 38-41 Google Scholar In most European countries and in the USA children are not screened for hearing impairment. In the UK and the Netherlands babies are screened at age 7–9 months with the infant-distraction test, but this test has low specificity and low sensitivity, so hearing loss is picked up and treatment started too late. 2 Davis A Bamford J Wilson I Ramkalawan T Forshaw M Wright S A critical review of the role of neonatal hearing screening in the detection of congenital hearing impairment. Health Technol Assess. 1997; 1: 1-177 Google Scholar Moreover, the prevalence of otitis media with effusion among babies aged 7–9 months can distort the results of screening tests. Screening for hearing impairment during the neonatal period has been made feasible by the introduction of tests such as those based on transient evoked oto-acoustic emissions (TEOAE) and the automatic measurement of the auditory brainstem response (ABR). 3 Kennedy CR Kimm L Cafarelli Deed D et al. Otoacoustic emission and auditory brainstem responses in the newborn. Arch Dis Child. 1991; 66: 1124-1129 Crossref PubMed Scopus (105) Google Scholar