Referral rates and cost efficiency in a universal newborn hearing screening program using transient evoked otoacoustic emissions
Maxon, A.B.; White, K.R.; Behrens, T.R.; Vohr, B.R.
Journal of the American Academy of Audiology 6(4): 271-277
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 1050-0545 PMID: 7548926 Document Number: 447591
Recently, a National Institutes of Health Consensus Statement recommended that all infants be screened for hearing prior leaving the birthing hospital using a two-stage screening process based on transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs). Although the value of identifying hearing loss before 1 year of age is widely recognized, the feasibility of universal newborn hearing screening using TEOAE is sometimes questioned because it is presumed that the technique has a high false positive rate and is not cost efficient. This paper presents new data for 4253 infants from an operational universal newborn hearing screening program using a TEOAE procedure that answers those arguments.