Role Of Post Test Surveillance In Newborn Hearing Screening Program



   Volume 11
Prof. Dr. Ramesh Varadharajan, Dr. Praveena Ezhil, Mrs. Sri Janani .Y., Mrs. Pavithra. C.

Published online: 02 September 2025

Article Views: 20

Abstract

To study the impact of the Post-test surveillance program designed by us on the outcome of the New Born Hearing Screening Program. Babies born in a tertiary care hospital and babies referred from nearby hospitals were included in the ‘universal newborn hearing screening’ program. The study was conducted from June 2023 to October 2024. Hearing screening was done by Transient Evoked Oto Acoustic Emissions test using MAICO ERO SCAN system and results stored. After the test the babies were enrolled in the posttest surveillance program which monitored the speech milestones of the babies in their home till 6 months of age. The results are presented. A methodology flow chart was designed and implemented. 100 babies were screened. There were 31 male and 69 female babies and the male female ratio was 1:2. The incidence of newborn hearing loss identified in our study was 10 per 1000. Profound hearing loss was detected in a high-risk baby and referred for Cochlear implants. The post-test surveillance program designed by us helped to monitor the speech development of the babies in their home for six months after testing and covered the problem of false positive cases and provided a satisfactory outcome of the newborn hearing screening program. New Born Hearing Screening using Transient Evoked Oto Acoustic Emissions test is a simple method with good sensitivity and specificity. We recommend a ‘Universal screening’ method to be followed in the screening protocol. The six months post-test surveillance program is a very useful adjuvant which helps to address the problem of false positive results and achieve the goal.

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To Cite this article

R. Varadharajan et al., “Role Of Post Test Surveillance In Newborn Hearing Screening Program”, International Journal of Health and Medical Sciences, vol. 11, pp.11-19, 2025. Doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.20469/ijhms.11.30002