Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and the Incidence of Hearing Loss in Samutsakhon Hospital: A Retrospective Descriptive Study, 2021-2023
Keywords:
Newborn hearing screening, Newborn, Hearing lossAbstract
Background: Samutsakhon Hospital began implementing newborn hearing screening in July 2006, initially screening only high-risk infants according to the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) criteria and later expanded to universal screening of all newborns from January 2009 onward. However, a previous study reported that the outcomes of the newborn hearing screening program at Samutsakhon Hospital had not yet met the standard benchmarks recommended by the JCIH.
Objective: To evaluate the outcomes of the newborn hearing screening program at Samutsakhon Hospital between 2021 and 2023 and to determine the incidence of hearing loss among newborns.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using medical records of all live-born infants delivered at Samutsakhon Hospital from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023. Hearing screening was performed using transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE). Infants who failed the initial screening were scheduled for rescreening at one month of age, followed by diagnostic evaluation using auditory brainstem response (ABR), auditory steady-state response (ASSR), and tympanometry. Descriptive statistics including percentages, means, and standard deviations were used for analysis and compared to JCIH benchmark.
Results: During the study period, 16,023 live births were recorded. Of these, 11,449 newborns (71.62%) underwent hearing screening prior to hospital discharge. The initial referral rate was 10.88%. A total of 36.56% of infants returned for rescreening. Among infants who underwent diagnostic evaluation, 10 cases of hearing loss were identified, the average age was 10.14 months. All hearing loss infants were fitted hearing aids at the mean age of 12 months. The incidence of hearing loss was 0.56 per 1,000 live births.
Conclusion: The newborn hearing screening program at Samutsakhon Hospital has not yet achieved the performance benchmarks recommended by JCIH, particularly in screening coverage and follow-up rates. Strengthening program infrastructure, improving follow-up systems, and reducing diagnostic delay may enhance the effectiveness of the screening program.
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