Post-natal hearing loss in universal neonatal hearing screening communities: current limitations and future directions.
Universal hearing screening has dramatically improved outcomes for babies born with detectable hearing abnormalities; yet there are some infants who develop significant hearing problems after passing a neonatal screen. There is much conjecture as to the number and the characteristics of infants with post-natal hearing losses; yet evidence suggests that many children may be affected, and that a large proportion have no discoverable cause. Currently, screening programmes use lists of risk factors to enroll babies into surveillance programmes. This practice is problematic because audiological follow-ups are expensive and under-utilised, and parental disclosure is often inaccurate. The large databases from universal neonatal programmes could inform the development of effective, evidence-based practice and policy for the detection and intervention of children who develop post-natal hearing losses.
Hutt
Nicole
N
SWISH, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.
Rhodes
Christine
C
D002648:Child; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000639:trends*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors