Results and patient satisfaction from an early access infant hearing detection clinic

National recommendations in the United States specify that all infants with hearing impairment should be identified by 3 months of age. Infants who fail universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) require follow up testing after hospital discharge. Follow up testing may be difficult to obtain in some communities within the ideal time frame. A rapid access multidisciplinary clinic was established for failed UNHS. The objective of this study is to report outcomes and patient satisfaction from an early access hearing detection clinic.

Infants that failed UNHS were seen in the multidisciplinary clinic between 1/1/19 and 2/28/22. Patients underwent automated auditory brainstem response (ABR) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions testing and consulted with an otolaryngology nurse practitioner. Failed results were followed by diagnostic ABR. Surveys were administered at the beginning and end of the appointment.

In total, 169 infants were seen at a mean age of 8.4 weeks (95%CI 7.5, 9.4). Repeat testing was abnormal in 38 (22.4%). Diagnostic ABR was performed at an average age of 13.7 weeks (n = 34, 95% CI: 10.8, 16.6) and led to a diagnosis of hearing loss in 18 infants. Twenty-seven parents completed surveys at the initial visit. Anxiety level among patients with normal repeat testing (n = 20) decreased from 1.9 to 1.2 (p = .002), while anxiety level among those with abnormal repeat testing (n = 7) was not statistically different before and after (2.1 vs 2.7, p = .2). Satisfaction level was 3.7 ± 0.7 (scored 1-4). All parents reported having a better understanding of their child's hearing problem after the visit.

This novel nurse practitioner-led early hearing detection clinic enabled timely diagnosis of hearing loss and reassurance to families without hearing loss. Age at hearing loss diagnosis compares favorably to published cohorts.