Universal newborn hearing screening in Mexico: Results of the first 2 years

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The purpose of this study is to present the results of the first 2 years of universal newborn hearing screening and the prevalence of congenital hearing loss in Monterrey, Mexico. We performed a descriptive study of the first 2 years after starting of the newborn screening program in a private hospital in Mexico. The program is organized into levels. We using for initial evaluation an automated auditory brainstem response (AABR). If the test was positive, the audiologist conducted and auditory brainstem response (ABR) test and other specialized testing was performed. Babies with hearing impairment were referred for early intervention. A total of 3066 newborns were screened (99.9%). The prevalence of sensorineural and bilateral hearing loss was of 0.65/1000 newborns. Seventy-three neonates (2.37%) had a risk factor for hearing impairment. A total of 0.22% (n=7) of those studied were referred for ABR testing. Of the patients referred to the audiologist, 100% were seen. The positive predictive value for sensorineural hearing loss was 71.4% (95% CI 30.2-94.8) and the false positive rate was 0.065%. Of the subjects screened, 100% were diagnosed before the age of 3 months, but all babies began treatment after the age of 6 months. No cochlear implants were indicated. This is the first report of a universal hearing screening program in Mexico. Even though this study had a reduced sample, the findings of hearing loss rate in this study are similar to the results found in other countries.