[Newborn hearing impairment. Epidemiology and therapeutic relevance]

At last, newborn hearing screening has arrived. Hearing screening is now obligatory in Germany from 01.01.2009. Is this a reason for happiness only or will it become in those regions which do not have a setup achieved by their own initiatives for an optimal basic structure for screening and tracking, a patchwork of unorganized implementation of newborn hearing screening? By using programming models for the improvement of early detection of hearing impairment for children, the profits and debts have been identified. Multidisciplinary working groups have updated and augmented the relevant questions. At the initial start of the first screening activities it became clear that early recognition of hearing impairment in children will only be effective when this has been done in an integrated network of appropriate facilities for diagnostics and therapeutics for treatment of hearing malfunctions in children. At present tracking measures are supported in only a few federal states, while in most others both responsibilities and funding have not been organized. Some relevant cost analyses might help to avoid the coarser meanders.