PEDIATRICS Vol. 93 No. 2 February 1994, pp. 330-334
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bess, F. H.
Right arrow Articles by Paradise, J. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bess, F. H.
Right arrow Articles by Paradise, J. L.

Universal Screening for Infant Hearing Impairment: Not Simple, Not Risk-Free, Not Necessarily Beneficial, and Not Presently Justified

Fred H. Bess PhD1 and Jack L. Paradise MD2

1 Division of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Bill Wilkerson Center, Nashville, TN
2 Dept of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

In our judgment, before any societal decision is made as to whether to institute a universal screening program for hearing impairment in young infants, many questions for which answers are not now available must be answered. To answer those questions will require extensive research. Clearly, the authors of the Consensus Statement were not unmindful of the scope of the problem, for they included in the Statement a listing of proposed future studies they considened important. Among these were: "controlled trials of screening by audiologists versus trained non-professionals on volunteers; controlled trials of the influence of different settings...on the effectiveness of screening procedures; comparison of early intervention with later intervention...; evaluate the validity and reliability of screening instruments...; test the feasibility of screening methods...in infant populations...in remote satellite clinics...; determine whether a two-tier screening system...wonks better than [a single scneen]...study the cost-effectiveness of universal screening for infant hearing impairment." We heartily agree that these studies, and other studies, are important—indeed, crucial. So crucial, in fact, that, until they have been conducted and their results tabulated, no rational decision on undertaking universal screening for infant hearing loss is possible. We, too, believe that early identification is important; however, the precipitate launching of mass screening could work to deter the eventual development of an effective early identification program. In the meantime, to identify infants at risk for hearing impairment, continued reliance on the high-risk register as recommended by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing,4 but in combination with an automated rather than conventional ABR screen, seems to be a more practical, cost-effective approach.

Submitted on October 15, 1993
Accepted on October 19, 1993




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
B. R. Vohr, J. Jodoin-Krauzyk, R. Tucker, M. J. Johnson, D. Topol, and M. Ahlgren
Results of Newborn Screening for Hearing Loss: Effects on the Family in the First 2 Years of Life
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, March 1, 2008; 162(3): 205 - 211.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JSLHRHome page
A. Zaidman-Zait and E. Dromi
Analogous and Distinctive Patterns of Prelinguistic Communication in Toddlers With and Without Hearing Loss
J Speech Lang Hear Res, October 1, 2007; 50(5): 1166 - 1180.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 AJAHome page
J. R. MacNeil, C.-l. Liu, S. Stone, and J. Farrell
Evaluating Families' Satisfaction With Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Services in Massachusetts
Am J Audiol, June 1, 2007; 16(1): 29 - 56.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
M. P. Moeller, K. R. White, and L. Shisler
Primary Care Physicians' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Newborn Hearing Screening
Pediatrics, October 1, 2006; 118(4): 1357 - 1370.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child.Home page
B O Olusanya, L M Luxon, and S L Wirz
Infant hearing screening: route to informed choice
Arch. Dis. Child., November 1, 2004; 89(11): 1039 - 1040.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Pediatr. Rev.Home page
R. B. Gregg, L. S. Wiorek, and J. C. Arvedson
Pediatric Audiology: A Review
Pediatr. Rev., July 1, 2004; 25(7): 224 - 234.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child.Home page
Z Poulakis, M Barker, and M Wake
Six month impact of false positives in an Australian infant hearing screening programme
Arch. Dis. Child., January 1, 2003; 88(1): 20 - 24.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck SurgHome page
D. D. Mafong, S. D. Pletcher, C. Hoyt, and A. K. Lalwani
Ocular Findings in Children With Congenital Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, November 1, 2002; 128(11): 1303 - 1306.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
R. Keren, M. Helfand, C. Homer, H. McPhillips, and T. A. Lieu
Projected Cost-Effectiveness of Statewide Universal Newborn Hearing Screening
Pediatrics, November 1, 2002; 110(5): 855 - 864.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Pediatr. Rev.Home page
J. Sokol and M. Hyde
Hearing Screening
Pediatr. Rev., May 1, 2002; 23(5): 155 - 162.
[Full Text]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
V. Weichbold and K. Welzl-Mueller
Maternal Concern About Positive Test Results in Universal Newborn Hearing Screening
Pediatrics, November 1, 2001; 108(5): 1111 - 1116.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
W. K. Frankenburg;, S. Grosse, M. Adams, J. Holstrum, K. Van Naarden, C. Boyle;, and J. L. Paradise
Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening
Pediatrics, September 1, 2000; 106(3): 616 - 618.
[Full Text]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
M. P. Moeller
Early Intervention and Language Development in Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Pediatrics, September 1, 2000; 106(3): 43e - 43.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
C. J. Clemens, S. A. Davis, and A. R. Bailey
The False-Positive in Universal Newborn Hearing Screening
Pediatrics, July 1, 2000; 106(1): 7e - 7.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
G. M. Headley, D. E. Campbell, and J. S. Gravel
Effect of Neonatal Test Environment on Recording Transient-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions
Pediatrics, June 1, 2000; 105(6): 1279 - 1285.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
A. R. Kemper and S. M. Downs
A Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Newborn Hearing Screening Strategies
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, May 1, 2000; 154(5): 484 - 488.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
A. L. Berg, L. G. Spivak;, A. L. Mehl;, and J. L. Paradise
Universal Newborn Hearing Screening: Should We Leap Before We Look?
Pediatrics, August 1, 1999; 104(2): 351 - 354.
[Full Text]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
J. L. Paradise
Universal Newborn Hearing Screening: Should We Leap Before We Look?
Pediatrics, March 1, 1999; 103(3): 670 - 672.
[Full Text]

Home page
 Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck SurgHome page
T. J. Kanne, L. Schaefer, and J. A. Perkins
Potential Pitfalls of Initiating a Newborn Hearing Screening Program
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, January 1, 1999; 125(1): 28 - 32.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
C. Yoshinaga-Itano, A. L. Sedey, D. K. Coulter, and A. L. Mehl
Language of Early- and Later-identified Children With Hearing Loss
Pediatrics, November 1, 1998; 102(5): 1161 - 1171.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
L. Barsky-Firkser and S. Sun
Universal Newborn Hearing Screenings: A Three-Year Experience
Pediatrics, June 1, 1997; 99(6): e4 - e4.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]