Our Newborn Hearing Screening Outcomes

Hearing loss is one of the most commonly seen abnormalities in people. Hearing is essential for speech and cognitive functions during the first years of life and therefore early diagnosis and amplification is important. In our study we published the hearing screening results of newborns collected from Konya Beyhekim State Hospital between January 2011 and July 2012. Newborns between the ages of 2-7 days were screened with a otoacoustic emission hearing test. Newborns who failed in the test had an ear,nose and throat reexamination and the test also redone after 14 days. Those who failed the second test were referred to a health reference center. 3167 newborns were screened between January 2011 and July 2012. 310 (9.78%) newborns failed the first test. 5 (0.15%) newborns who failed the second test were referred to a health reference center. We advocate hearing screening programs for all newborns as hearing loss is identified and treated earlier