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Potential pitfalls of initiating a newborn hearing screening program
T J Kanne1, L Schaefer, J A Perkins
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Wash, USA.
Archives of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery
|February 5, 1999
Summary
Universal infant hearing screening using transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) showed good specificity but faced implementation challenges. Program deficiencies and funding issues prevented truly universal screening, impacting early detection of hearing loss (HL).
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Neonatal care
- Public health screening
Background:
- Universal screening programs aim to detect hearing loss (HL) in infants early.
- Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) are a common screening tool.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a universal infant hearing screening program.
- To identify barriers to successful implementation of universal screening.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 2289 infants screened using a 3-stage TEOAE protocol.
- Assessment of screening specificity, HL incidence, risk factors, and costs.
Main Results:
- 91.1% passed initial TEOAE screening; 26.2% of those retested failed.
- Hearing loss (HL) was identified in 11.6% of referred infants, with an overall incidence of 2.18 per 1000 newborns.
- Program deficiencies led to 10% of infants not being screened; funding and implementation issues hindered continuation.
Conclusions:
- TEOAE screening demonstrated sufficient specificity for universal application.
- Achieving truly universal screening was not possible due to program deficiencies and external factors.
- Lack of funding and implementation difficulties ultimately led to the program's discontinuation.