Newborn hearing screening and follow-up: are children receiving recommended services?

Objectives: Newborn hearing screening programs have been implemented by all 50 states and most U.S. territories to detect hearing loss in infants and prevent delays in speech, language, and social and emotional development.

Measures of follow-up in early hearing detection and intervention programs: a need for standardization.

Purpose: To demonstrate the need for standardized data definitions and reporting for early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs collecting information on newborn hearing screening and follow-up, and types of information best collected in a standardized manner.

Method: A hypothetical birth cohort was used to show the potential effects of nonstandardized definitions and data classifications on rates of hearing screening, audiologic follow-up, and hearing loss.

Results: The true screening rate in this cohort was 92.

Determining the effect of newborn hearing screening legislation: an analysis of state hearing screening rates.

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of state Universal Newborn Hearing Screening legislation on the percentage of infants having their hearing screened within one month of birth.

Methods: Hearing screening data for 2000-2003 were obtained from state hearing screening programs. States with Universal Newborn Hearing Screening legislation were categorized according to legislation type and implementation status, and hearing screening rates were compared between states with implemented legislation and states with no legislation.