title: Universal newborn hearing screening; automated transient evoked otoacoustic emissions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to describe the results of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) in 2229 newborns and to assess the effectiveness of a two-stage automated transient evoked otoacoustic emission (a-TEOAE) test protocol.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between May 2007 and January 2008, a universal newborn hearing screening program, instituting two-stage a-TEOAE, was evaluated. The hearing status of the newborns who failed the two-stage screening tests were evaluated with the auditory brainstem response (ABR) test during the diagnostic stage. The risk factors for hearing loss determined by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing Loss (JCIH) and prematurity, consanguineous marriage, and birth type as presumptive risk factors were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the study period, 2229 newborns were screened. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) was identified in 8 newborns. Fourteen newborns were lost to follow-up. One hundred thirty six newborns were high-risk neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients. The prevalence of SNHL was 2.9% (4/136) in NICU newborns, and 0.19% (4/2079) in the well-baby nursery. SNHL prevalence in the study group overall was found to be 0.36% (8/2215). Craniofacial anomalies and family history of hearing loss were found to be significantly related to SNHL in newborns. Prematurity and consanguinity that are not listed among JCIH risk factors were also found to be statistically significantly related with SNHL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report of a universal hearing screening program in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. Two-stage a-TEOAE is an efficient and feasible hospital-based screening protocol in newborns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, School of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey. selcukars@yahoo.com
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.forename: A U
authors.initials: AU
authors.lastname: Işik
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imamoğlu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Topbaş
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aslan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ural
mesh_terms: D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology