Newborn Hearing Screening Program Implantation Analysis at a University Hospital

Risk factors and prevalence of newborn hearing loss in a private health care system of Porto Velho, Northern Brazil

“…Hearing loss is considered a public health problem because of its prevalence, but, mainly due to the multiple consequences that it may cause to human development, in intellectual, social, linguistic, cognitive, emotional, and cultural aspects ( 3 ) . In a study whose aim was to better understand the risk factors for hearing loss and to obtain information on the time elapsed between suspicion, diagnosis, and intervention in children and adolescents with hearing loss at the Educational Audiology Service of Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP), authors found that, in 43% of patients, there was suspicion of hearing loss in the 1st year of life; in 25% the diagnosis was made immediately after suspicion; and only 11% started treatment immediately after diagnosis ( 15 ) .…”

“…On the other hand, the performance of NHS before hospital discharge can also have a negative influence on the failure rate, which is associated to the number of hours of life of the NB in the moment of the test, since they may present, before 24 hours of life, amniotic fluid in the middle ear or vernix in the external ear canal, hampering the capture of otoacoustic emissions ( 17 ) . Several authors observed that the failure rate in the NHS with OAE performed before hospital discharge could reach values of 20% or more ( 3 , 7 , 16 , 18 , 19 ) . In this investigation, only 7.16% of infants failed the NHS, and that may be explained by the fact that it was applied after hospital discharge, when the NB probably had no more traces of vernix or amniotic fluid in the middle ear.…”

“…A deficiência auditiva é considerada como um problema de saúde pública em virtude de sua prevalência, mas, sobretudo, pelas múltiplas consequências que pode acarretar ao desenvolvimento humano, nos aspectos intelectuais, sociais, linguísticos, cognitivos, emocionais e culturais ( 3 ) . Em estudo cujo objetivo foi conhecer os fatores de risco para deficiência auditiva e obter informações sobre o tempo transcorrido entre suspeita, diagnóstico e intervenção, em crianças e jovens deficientes auditivos no Serviço de Audiologia Educacional da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP), os autores constataram que, em 43% dos pacientes, suspeitou-se de deficiência auditiva no primeiro ano de vida; o diagnóstico foi realizado logo após a suspeita em 25% dos casos e somente 11% iniciaram o tratamento logo após o diagnóstico ( 15 ) .…”

“…Hearing impairment is defined as a decreased ability to perceive sound, in which there is a deviation or change in structures or in their function, outside the limits of normality ( 2 ) . It also represents a public health problem ( 3 ) due to its impact on the citizen, and that is why hearing loss in neonates should be detected early, being the newborn hearing screening program, therefore, indispensable ( 4 ) .…”

“…A deficiência auditiva é definida como a diminuição da capacidade de percepção do som, na qual há desvio ou mudança das estruturas ou da sua função, situando-se fora dos limites da normalidade ( 2 ) . A mesma representa, por suas repercussões sobre o cidadão, um problema de saúde pública ( 3 ) e é por isso que a detecção da perda auditiva em neonatos deve ser realizada precocemente, tornando indispensável o programa de triagem auditiva neonatal ( 4 ) .…”