All issues > Volume 50(1); 2007

Review Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2007;50(1):7-13. Published online January 15, 2007.

Newborn hearing screening

Lee Suk LS Kim¹

¹Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Dong-A University Busan, Korea

Correspondence Lee Suk LS Kim ,Email: klsolkor@chol.net

Abstract

Hearing loss in newborns is the most frequently occurring birth defect. If hearing impaired children are not identified and managed early, it is difficult for many of them to acquire the fundamental language, social and cognitive skills that provide the foundation for later schooling and success in society. All newborns, both high and low risk, should be screened for hearing loss in the birth hospital prior discharge (Universal Newborn Heaing Screening, UNHS). Objective physiologic measures must be used to detect newborns and very young infants with hearing loss. Recent technological developments have produced screening methods and both evoked otoacoustic emission (EOAE) and auditory brainstem response (ABR) have been successfully implemented for UNHS. Audiologic evaluation should be carried out before 3 months of age and infants with confirmed hearing loss should receive intervention before 6 months of age. All infants who pass newborn hearing screening but who have risk indicators for other auditory disorders and/or speech and language delay receive ongoing audiologic surveillance and monitoring for communication development. Infants with sensorineural hearing loss are managed with hearing aids and receive auditory and speech-language rehabilitation therapies. Cochlear implants can be an outstanding option for certain children aged 12 months and older with severe to profound hearing loss who show limited benefit from conventional amplifications.

Keywords :Newborn hearing screening , Sensorineural hearing loss , Hearing aid , Cochlear implant