Establishing a newborn hearing screening programme in Taiwan

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to establish a model of universal newborn hearing screening in Taiwan. The project of screening is a large-scale implenlentation of the transient evoked otoacoustic emissions. The screening test was carried out on newborns 48 hours after birth, just prior to hospital discharge. The project extended from November 1998 to December 2001 at Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei. A total of 11 291 newborns were screened. Among them, 10556 babies (93.5%) passed the test bilaterally, but 735 babies (6.5%) failed it. For those who failed in screening it was arranged to have OAE or ABR testing for further assessment. The results show that 18 babies were diagnosed to have bilateral hearing loss and 41 unilateral hearing loss. The prevalence of congenital bilateral hearing loss is about 0.16% and that of unilateral hearing loss is approximately 0.36%. All the babies identified with bilateral hearing loss were referred to the Children's Hearing Foundation for hearing rehabilitation.

Results of a 1‐year government‐funded newborn hearing screening program in Taiwan

“…The estimated incidence of bilateral SNHI is one in 1,000 newborns in Taiwan . The coverage rate of newborn hearing screening in early Taiwan was very low, and the cost of test (US $16.70–26.70) was paid by their parents.…”

“…The coverage rate of newborn hearing screening in early Taiwan was very low, and the cost of test (US $16.70–26.70) was paid by their parents. According to the investigation of the Bureau of Health into newborn hearing screening in 2002, only 21 among 80 hospitals conducted newborn hearing screening programs, and the coverage rate was 10% (25,000/250,000) . Therefore, it is important to raise the coverage rate of newborn hearing screening because hearing‐impaired infants who receive early intervention and begin speech therapy before 6 months of age have the potential to develop a vocabulary equal to that of their normal‐hearing peers .…”

“…The estimated incidence of bilateral SNHI is one in 1,000 newborns in Taiwan. 9 The coverage rate of newborn hearing screening in early Taiwan was very low, and the cost of test (US $16.70-26.70) was paid by their parents. According to the investigation of the Bureau of Health into newborn hearing screening in 2002, only 21 among 80 hospitals conducted newborn hearing screening programs, and the coverage rate was 10% (25,000/ 250,000).…”

“…The cost of the newborn hearing screening program in Taiwan is not covered by the National Health Insurance system. Therefore, the coverage rate tends to be low . The aim of this study was to establish an ideal operative procedure of universal newborn hearing screening with a high coverage rate and a low referral rate.…”

“…Therefore, the coverage rate tends to be low. 9 The aim of this study was to establish an ideal operative procedure of universal newborn hearing screening with a high coverage rate and a low referral rate.…”