Does the introduction of newborn hearing screening improve vocabulary development in hearing-impaired children? A

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Shuhei Ohmori1, Akiko Sugaya2, Naomi Toida3

  • 1Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8558, Japan; Okayama Kanariya Gakuen, Auditory Center for Hearing Impaired Children, 321-102, Nisifurumatsu, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-0927, Japan.

International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
|January 3, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Newborn hearing screening (NHS) significantly improved vocabulary development in hearing-impaired children. Early identification via NHS led to better receptive and productive language skills in preschool-aged children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Audiology
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Permanent hearing impairment significantly impacts children's lifelong language development.
  • Early identification of hearing loss is crucial for optimal language acquisition.
  • A newborn hearing screening (NHS) program was implemented in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, in 1999.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of the Okayama Prefecture's newborn hearing screening (NHS) program on the vocabulary development of preschool-aged children.
  • To compare vocabulary outcomes in children who underwent screening before and after the NHS program's introduction.
  • To assess the effectiveness of early hearing impairment detection on language acquisition.

Main Methods:

  • A comparative study design involving 107 five-year-old children who attended Okayama Kanariya Gakuen between 1998 and 2011.
  • Participants were divided into a pre-NHS group (1998-2003, n=40) and a post-NHS group (2004-2011, n=67).
  • Receptive vocabulary (Picture Vocabulary Test) and productive vocabulary (original checklist) were assessed and compared between groups.

Main Results:

  • Children in the post-NHS group demonstrated significantly higher scores for both receptive and productive vocabulary compared to the pre-NHS group (p<0.01).
  • The adjusted odds ratio for improved receptive vocabulary was 2.63 (95% CI: 1.17-5.89).
  • The adjusted odds ratio for improved productive vocabulary was 4.17 (95% CI: 1.69-10.29).

Conclusions:

  • The implementation of the newborn hearing screening (NHS) program in Okayama Prefecture led to significant improvements in vocabulary development for hearing-impaired children.
  • Early detection of hearing impairment through NHS positively influences both receptive and productive language skills.
  • The findings underscore the importance of universal newborn hearing screening for mitigating the long-term effects of hearing loss on child development.
Abstract

Keywords:
Hearing impairmentLanguage developmentNewborn hearing screeningVocabulary

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