More Infants are Benefiting from Newborn Hearing Screenings

A CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found more infants are receiving documented newborn hearing screening and early intervention services. (2017;66[33]:888.) National early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) data showed that the percentage of newborns who had documented newborn hearing screening increased from 52 percent to over 97 percent between 2000 and 2014. From 2005 to 2014, documented enrollment in early intervention from 2005 to 2014 among newborns who received documented screening increased from 58 percent to 65 percent. The number of infants lost to follow-up reduced both overall and in selected states. For example, only 4.6 percent of infants who did not pass newborn hearing screening in Massachusetts in 2014 were lost to follow-up, and 85 percent of newborns with diagnosed hearing loss were documented to have received intervention services.

​Early diagnosis of hearing loss, starting with newborn screening, has been shown to reduce deficits in receptive and expressive language that occur in unscreened children who subsequently receive a clinical diagnosis of hearing loss. (Pediatrics. 2016;137[1].) The authors of the report hope the lessons learned from the success of newborn hearing screening programs could be applied to early detection and intervention initiatives for critical congenital heart disease and other health conditions.​

Published: 8/25/2017 2:44:00 PM

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