Universal Screening for Infant Hearing Impairment

Abstract

In their article in the February issue of Pediatrics, Bess and Paradise perform a useful public service by highlighting the problems inherent in using otoacoustic emissions (OAE) technology to screen infants before hospital discharge. The problem I have with the authors' analysis, however, is that their disappointments with a specific modality should not lead them to dismiss screening altogether. They apparently have not tested other competing modalities that do not suffer from the problems that make OAE inaccurate and noneconomic.