[Permanent hearing loss in the prelingual phase in children with a non-aberrant neonatal hearing screening result]

--Neonatal hearing screening is fully implemented in the Netherlands since June 2006 using otoacoustic emissions (OAE) and automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) technology. --A normal neonatal hearing screening result unfortunately does not guarantee childhood normal hearing. Hearing loss may not become manifest until after the neonatal period. --Hearing loss at a later stage may be classified in three categories: (a) delayed onset hearing loss which occurs when the cause of the hearing loss is present at birth but the hearing loss itself becomes detectable at a later stage; (b) progressive hearing loss in which a very slight hearing loss may be present at birth but is not yet detectable and the hearing loss becomes progressively more severe; and (c) acquired hearing loss that results from a number of external factors, such as meningitis, ototoxic drugs, neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia necessitating an exchange transfusion, and trauma. --Neonatal hearing screening can result in detection of moderate to profound permanent hearing loss at an early age when therapeutic options may have maximum effect. However, even after this period, constant vigilance is necessary to detect permanent hearing loss in young children, especially during the prelingual period.