BACKGROUND: In order to prepare for the introduction of a universal newborn hearing screening program on a larger scale, TEOAE and ABR were recorded on automated screening instruments from both ears of 501 newborns at the University Hospital Heidelberg over a period of 13 months. The parents of children in whom OAE and ABR could not be detected in both ears, were requested to allow a complete exploration of the auditory status of the children at the department of pediatric audiology. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Internally available data networks were used for the acquisition and evaluation of data and for the organization of tracking and follow-up. Of the children 35% exhibited risk factors for congenital hearing impairment. RESULTS: The pass rate was 98.7% for the exclusion of binaural and 91.6% for monaural hearing disorders (TEOAE or ABR detectable). On the basis of the data it can be shown how pass rates can be optimized by selecting a suitable moment for the examination and by prescribing a minimum number of test repetitions (3 for TEOAE and 2 for AABR). CONCLUSION: Quality control of screening programs should include these parameters and, in particular the number of repetitions of test measurements in all screening steps.
BACKGROUND: In order to prepare for the introduction of a universal newborn hearing screening program on a larger scale, TEOAE and ABR were recorded on automated screening instruments from both ears of 501 newborns at the University Hospital Heidelberg over a period of 13 months. The parents of children in whom OAE and ABR could not be detected in both ears, were requested to allow a complete exploration of the auditory status of the children at the department of pediatric audiology. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Internally available data networks were used for the acquisition and evaluation of data and for the organization of tracking and follow-up. Of the children 35% exhibited risk factors for congenital hearing impairment. RESULTS: The pass rate was 98.7% for the exclusion of binaural and 91.6% for monaural hearing disorders (TEOAE or ABR detectable). On the basis of the data it can be shown how pass rates can be optimized by selecting a suitable moment for the examination and by prescribing a minimum number of test repetitions (3 for TEOAE and 2 for AABR). CONCLUSION: Quality control of screening programs should include these parameters and, in particular the number of repetitions of test measurements in all screening steps.