A National Survey of Pediatric Otolaryngologists and Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs

Abstract

Follow-up rates for babies identified for hearing loss from early hearing detection and intervention programs (EHDIPs) and newborn hearing screening programs (NHSPs) in the United States do not meet the goals posited by the Centers for Disease Control. Pediatric otolaryngologists (PED-ENTs) play a vital role in EHDIPs and can positively influence parents' compliance with professionals' recommendations for their babies. This national study used a 19-item questionnaire and postal survey to assess PED-ENTs' knowledge about, experience with, and attitudes toward NHSPs. Of 565 surveys mailed (36 were undeliverable), 233 were returned for a 44% response rate. Most of these PED-ENTs had adequate knowledge about, participated in, and expressed positive attitudes toward NHSPs; however, some could benefit from additional information about national EHDI benchmarks and poor follow-up rates. Audiologists should ally with PED-ENTs locally and nationally to strengthen EHDIPs and prevent loss of children with hearing impairment to follow-up.

Triagem auditiva neonatal: aplicabilidade clínica na rotina dos médicos pediatras neonatologistas

“…Entretanto, este dado diverge dos resultados observados em estudos, nos quais a maioria dos pediatras declarou possuir pouca ou nenhuma informação sobre a triagem auditiva e, mesmo aqueles que afi rmaram ter conhecimento sobre a triagem auditiva, relataram não ter informações sobre os benefícios da intervenção em pe ríodo adequado da defi ciência auditiva 20,21 . Em conformidade com o presente estudo, autores reforçam a necessidade de programas que divulguem a importância da TAN e propiciem um amplo conhecimento das formas de prevenção da surdez, uma vez que todos os profi ssionais que trabalham com RN podem cooperar para a identifi cação da defi ciência auditiva no período ideal 6,16,22 .…”

Systematic Review of Physicians' Knowledge of, Participation in, and Attitudes toward Newborn Hearing Screening Programs

“…Key physician groups in the nine studies usually included pediatricians 1,2,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and general practitioners/family physicians [11][12][13][14] who could potentially serve as the medical home for young children with hearing loss and their families. The pediatricians were fairly equivalent across the nine studies for gender, and they were slightly skewed toward those with <10 years of professional experiences, with the majority in private practice and community clinic settings in urban and suburban locations.…”

“…Learning Outcomes: As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to (1) identify components of effective early hearing detection and intervention programs, (2) list important parts of the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing 2007 position statement, (3) describe the role of physicians in these programs, (4) cite areas in which physicians could benefit from additional knowledge about these programs, and (5) recognize ways of enhancing these programs by providing educational information to physicians in their desired formats.…”

“…Even more importantly, physicians must inform parents of infants identified as potentially having hearing loss through the newborn hearing screening (NHS) process about the need for them to comply with subsequent diagnostic testing in a timely manner and with recommendations that hearing health-care professionals make for their infants so they are not lost to follow-up. 1,2 Although >90% of infants in the United States presently receive hearing screenings, unfortunately, almost half of those identified as needing follow-up services do not receive them and are considered to be lost to follow-up or documentation. [3][4][5][6][7] Although there can be multiple reasons why infants do not receive follow-up services, it may be due in part because some physicians are not aware of current benchmarks and guidelines for NHS and EH-DIPs, they may hold beliefs that do not agree with the concepts of NHS, or they do not make enthusiastic recommendations and referrals to parents.…”

Detection of Cytomegalovirus DNA in Dried Blood Spots of Minnesota Infants Who Do Not Pass Newborn Hearing Screening

“…10 -12 Although newborn hearing screening (NHS) is now standard-of-care in the United States, 13 follow-up rates for failed screens are disappointing. 14,15 Moreover, screening does not reveal the cause of SNHL; infants identified as refers (or fails) by NHS require further diagnostic evaluation. Approaches aimed at linking failed NHS to diagnosis of etiologies of SNHL could facilitate earlier identification of treatable causes of hearing loss.…”