Limitations and drawbacks of the hospital-based universal neonatal hearing screening program: First report from the Arabian Peninsula and insights.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of the current universal neonatal hearing screening program in a tertiary medical institution in Oman, identify its limitations and drawbacks, and explore their causative factors.

Methods: A retrospective review was carried out to analyse the hearing screening of 12,743 live babies born between January 2016 and December 2018. Screen coverage, drop outs, follow up rate, and age at completion of screening, diagnosis, and intervention were analysed.