Hearing loss is the most frequently occurring birth defect in the United States. Of the well baby population, 3 out of every 1,000 babies are born with permanent hearing loss. That number increases to 4 out of 100 for infants in the NICU.
Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) is a strategy for early detection of permanent congenital hearing loss. It describes the use of objective testing methods (usually Otoacoustic Emission (OAE) testing or Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (AABR® testing) to screen the hearing of well newborns. This screening separates children into two groups:
- Those with a high index of suspicion (more likely to have permanent congenital hearing loss)
- Those with a low index of suspicion (less likely to have permanent congenital hearing loss)
Newborn hearing screening aims to reduce the age of detection for hearing loss – meaning that diagnosed children can receive early intervention, which is more effective because the brain’s ability to learn language (spoken, cued or signed) reduces as the child ages. Children born with permanent congenital hearing loss have historically performed worse educationally, had poorer language acquisition, social functioning and vocational choices than their hearing peers.