Content area
Abstract
The incidence of sensorineural hearing loss ranges from 1 to 3 per 1,000 live births in term healthy neonates, and 24 per 100 in high-risk infants, a 10-fold increase. Early identication and intervention with hearing augmentation within 6 mo yields optimal eect. If undetected and without treatment, signicant hearing impairment may negatively impact speech development and lead to disorders in psychological and mental behaviors. Hearing screening programs in newborns enable detection of hearing impairment in the rst days after birth. Programs to identify hearing decit have signicantly improved over the two decades, and their implementation continues to grow throughout the world. Initially based on risk factors, these programs identied only 5075% of infants with hearing loss. Current recommendations are to conduct universal hearing screening in all infants. Techniques used primarily include automated auditory brainstem responses and otoacoustic emissions that provide noninvasive recordings of physiologic auditory activity and are easily performed in neonates and infants. The aim of this review is to present the objectives, benets, and results of newborn hearing screening programs including the pros and cons of universal vs. selective screening. A brief history and the anticipated future development of these programs will also be discussed.