Otoacoustic emissions screening identified hearing loss in young children

Otoacoustic emissions screening may be an effective method to identify young children with permanent hearing loss, according to recent study results published in Pediatrics.

“Over the past 2 decades, screening newborns for hearing loss has become the standard of care in the United States, with >95% of infants now being screened at birth,” researchers wrote. “As a result, approximately one to three infants per 1,000 are being identified with permanent hearing loss.”

The 10-month study included three federally funded clinics serving low-income and uninsured residents in a metropolitan area. Participants included 846 children who were screened during routine visits with an otoacoustic emissions (OAE) instrument. Audiological assessment was used on those participants who did not pass a previous OAE screening.

Researchers found that 814 participants passed the OAE screening or audiological assessment; 3% exited the study. However, three participants had permanent hearing loss (one was aged younger than 5 years and two were aged older than 5 years).

“Although newborn hearing screening has become the standard of care in the United States, most children do not have their hearing screened again until they enter school,” researchers wrote. “The results of this study reinforce the importance of hearing screening during early childhood to identify children with post-neonatal permanent hearing loss, as well as providing further screening and diagnostic services to infants who were not screened at birth or who did not pass the newborn screening and were subsequently lost to follow-up.”

Disclosure: The study was supported by Intermountain Healthcare and the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management, Utah State University.