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Neonatal hearing screening

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Abstract

Severe congenital hearing impairment is an important handicap affecting 0.1% of live-born infants and 1%–2% of graduates of Neonatal Intensive Care Units. The prognosis for intellectual, emotional, language and speech development in the hearing-impaired child is improved when the diagnosis is made early and intervention is begun before the age of 6 months. The usual age at diagnosis of hearing impairment is at least 18–30 months (or even later in cases of less severe hearing impairment) where there are no screening programmes. When screening is carried out using distraction methods at the age of approximately 9 months some hearing-impaired infants are missed and those discovered are at least 15–18 months before intervention begins. Neonatal screening could give hearing-impaired children the best chances for optimal care and development. Universal neonatal hearing screening is necessary, because, when neonatal hearing screening is restricted to high risk groups 30%–50% of infants with hearing loss are not discovered. The methods available for neonatal hearing screening are discussed in this paper.

Conclusion

In our view automated measurement of auditory brainstem responses is the most valuable method for universal neonatal hearing screening.

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Abbreviations

ABR :

auditory brainstem responses

ARC :

auditory response cradle

dBnHL :

deeibel normal hearing level

EOAE :

evoked oto-acoustic emissions

TEOAE :

transient evoked oto-acoustic emissions

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, Zuiderziekenhuis, 3075 EA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    A. M. Oudesluys-Murphy & R. Bholasingh

  2. Department of Neonatology, Sophia Hospital, Zwolle, The Netherlands

    H. L. M. van Straaten

  3. Department of Audiology, Erasmus University, University Hospital Sophia-Dijkzigt, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    G. A. van Zanten

Authors
  1. A. M. Oudesluys-Murphy
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  2. H. L. M. van Straaten
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  3. R. Bholasingh
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  4. G. A. van Zanten
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Oudesluys-Murphy, A.M., van Straaten, H.L.M., Bholasingh, R. et al. Neonatal hearing screening. Eur J Pediatr 155, 429–435 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01955176

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01955176

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