Optimal Timing for Neonatal Hearing Screening in Well-Babies

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Neonatal Care
• Public Health

Background:

• Preventive child healthcare (PCHC) in The Netherlands has conducted neonatal hearing screening since 2006.
• Transient evoked otoacoustic emission (OAE) testing is a common method for neonatal hearing screening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the optimal age for neonatal hearing screening to minimize false positive referral rates.
• To evaluate the impact of different OAE screening devices on referral rates.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the Dutch universal well-baby neonatal hearing screening program (2013-2023).
• Multilevel logistic regression models were used to assess referral probabilities.
• Inclusion of over 1.6 million newborns screened between 2013-2022 and 323,194 for 2022-2023.

Main Results:

• The lowest false positive referral rates (3.3-3.9%) were observed in newborns screened between five and thirteen days of age.
• The Echoscreen (ES)III device showed a significantly higher probability of referral (OR=1.84) compared to ESI/II devices.

Conclusions:

• The age of newborns at the time of screening significantly influences the false positive referral rate.
• The type of OAE screening device used impacts the likelihood of referral, with ESIII showing higher rates.