[Universal newborn hearing screening. Methodical aspects].

BACKGROUND

In order to prepare for the introduction of a universal newborn hearing screening program on a larger scale, TEOAE and ABR were recorded on automated screening instruments from both ears of 501 newborns at the University Hospital Heidelberg over a period of 13 months. The parents of children in whom OAE and ABR could not be detected in both ears, were requested to allow a complete exploration of the auditory status of the children at the department of pediatric audiology.

SUBJECTS AND

METHODS

Internally available data networks were used for the acquisition and evaluation of data and for the organization of tracking and follow-up. Of the children 35% exhibited risk factors for congenital hearing impairment.

RESULTS

The pass rate was 98.7% for the exclusion of binaural and 91.6% for monaural hearing disorders (TEOAE or ABR detectable). On the basis of the data it can be shown how pass rates can be optimized by selecting a suitable moment for the examination and by prescribing a minimum number of test repetitions (3 for TEOAE and 2 for AABR).

CONCLUSION

Quality control of screening programs should include these parameters and, in particular the number of repetitions of test measurements in all screening steps.