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Published on: January 23, 2017
Universal newborn hearing screening: a question of evidence
A Durieux-Smith1, E Fitzpatrick, J Whittingham
1Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Canada. adurieux@uottawa.ca
Insights
Neonatal hearing screening (NHS) programs significantly reduce diagnosis and hearing aid fitting ages for children with early-onset hearing loss compared to medical referral. Early identification through NHS is crucial for improved hearing outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Early-onset hearing loss affects child development.
- Timely diagnosis and intervention are critical for managing hearing loss.
- Neonatal hearing screening (NHS) aims to identify hearing loss in newborns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the ages of diagnosis and hearing aid fitting for children identified via NHS versus medical referral.
- To analyze trends in diagnosis and amplification ages over time.
- To investigate the relationship between hearing loss severity and age of diagnosis.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective data collection on 709 children born between 1980 and 2003.
- Comparison of diagnosis and amplification ages between NHS-identified and referred children.
- Analysis of diagnosis age based on degree of hearing loss.
Main Results:
- Children identified through NHS were diagnosed significantly earlier (mean 6.3 months) than referred children (mean 39.5 months).
- For referred children, diagnosis and amplification ages improved but remained high.
- Children with milder hearing loss were diagnosed later than those with severe to profound loss.
Conclusions:
- NHS programs effectively lower the age of diagnosis and hearing aid fitting.
- Early access to audiological services should be the primary goal of NHS.
- Evidence supports the continued implementation and expansion of NHS programs.
Abstract:
The objective of this paper is to present data on the ages of diagnosis and hearing-aid fitting of children with permanent congenital or early-onset hearing loss who were identified through neonatal hearing screening (NHS) programs or medical referral. Data were collected for 709 children born between 1980 and 2003. Children who were screened were diagnosed significantly earlier (mean 6.3 months) than referred children (mean 39.5 months). For the referred children, the ages of diagnosis and amplification improved over time but remained unacceptably high. In addition, there was an inverse relationship between degree of loss and age of diagnosis, with children with lesser degrees of hearing loss identified later than those with severe to profound hearing loss. These results contribute to the evidence that NHS programs lower the ages of diagnosis and amplification and lead to earlier improved hearing. It is argued that early access to hearing should be the desired primary outcome of NHS. The numerous studies demonstrating improved ages of diagnosis resulting from NHS programs constitute adequate evidence to support these initiatives.
