Newborn hearing screening follow-up: factors affecting hearing aid fitting by 6 months of age.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the extent to which the goal of hearing aid fitting by 6 months of age is being achieved and to identify barriers to achieving that goal.


METHODS
Screening and follow-up records from 114,121 infants born at 6 hospitals were collected over a 6-year period. Infants diagnosed with permanent hearing loss requiring amplification were categorized as fit on time, fit late, or lost to follow-up. Seven factors were empirically identified as potential barriers to timely intervention.


RESULTS
Ninety-one percent of referred infants returned for follow-up evaluation. Hearing aids were fit on 107 of the 192 infants requiring amplification. Thirty-nine percent were fit on time, and 61% were fit late or lost to follow-up. Unilateral hearing loss and late diagnosis were statistically significant (p < .0001) predictors for late fitting and loss to follow-up. Conductive hearing loss and coverage by Medicaid were also statistically significant (p < .0001) predictors for loss to follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
High return rate for follow-up does not ensure hearing aid fitting by 6 months of age. Infants with unilateral hearing loss are at particular risk of being lost to follow-up.
Spivak
Lynn
L
Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Hearing and Speech Center, 430 Lakeville Road, New Hyde Park, NY 11042, USA. spivak@lij.edu
Sokol
Heidi
H
Auerbach
Charles
C
Gershkovich
Stella
S
D001300:Audiometry, Evoked Response; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D046088:Hearing Loss, Unilateral / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D009518:New York; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; D011336:Probability; D014600:Utilization Review / Q000706:statistics & numerical data