Universal neonatal hearing screening: Six years of experience in Qatar

Hearing loss is one of the most common congenital anomalies observed at birth. It is reported to occur in approximately 2 infants per 1000, and in approximately 3 per 1000 infants in intensive care. Early identification and intervention can prevent severe psychosocial, educational and linguistic repercussions as hearing loss can result in a language delay if not addressed early— infants who are not identified before 6 months of age have delays in speech and language development. Intervention at or before 6 months of age allows a child with impaired hearing to develop normal speech and language. Prior to implementation of universal newborn screening, testing was conducted only on infants who met the criteria of the high-risk register (HRR). Recently it was found that the HRR was not enough, given that as many as 50% of infants born with hearing loss have no known risk factors. A retrospective study conducted by Connolly et al. in 2005 found that 1 of every 811 infants without risk factors and 1 of every 75 infants with risk factors have hearing loss. The prevalence of hearing loss may continue to change as more data become available from universal newborn hearing screening programs. Data from newborn hearing screening programs in Rhode Island, Colorado, and Texas, USA, showed that approximately 3 of every 1000 neonates suffer hearing loss. The American Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH 2007), The American Academy of Pediatrics (1999), and The National Institute of Health (NIH 1993) suggested in their positional statement on developing and maintaining UNHS programs that by screening they should be able to identify hearing loss by one month of age, confirmation of hearing loss by three months of age and enrollment in family centered intervention program by six months of age. OPEN ACCESS