Predicting hearing loss from 10 years of universal newborn hearing screening results and risk factors

Abstract

Objective

This study investigated whether demographic variables, risk factor presence or absence and universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) results can be used to predict permanent childhood hearing loss (PCHL) in infants referred from screening.

Design

Retrospective analysis of a UNHS database.

Study sample

Data were extracted from the state-wide UNHS database storing details of the 613,027 infants who were born in Queensland, Australia between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2016 and participated in UNHS. This study included the 6735 children who were referred from the UNHS program for diagnostic audiology due to failing the screen in one or both ears or bypassing screening.

Results

Factors with a significant positive association with PCHL that were incorporated into a logistic regression model were: female gender, non-indigenous status, family history of PCHL, craniofacial anomalies and syndromes associated with PCHL, and a bilateral refer result on screening.

Conclusions

Odds of PCHL vary among infants referred for diagnostic assessment from UNHS programs. When an infant refers on the newborn hearing screen, information about their gender, indigenous status, identified risk factors and specific screening outcome can be used to predict the likelihood of a congenital PCHL diagnosis.

Keywords:

• Audiology
• hearing loss
• infant
• risk factors
• screening

Acknowledgements

We thank Gavin Bott for his advice and guidance with data extraction, and Shannon McPherson for his assistance in preparing Figure 1.

Declaration of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The raw data set was generated at Healthy Hearing, Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service and is not publicly available due to privacy restrictions. The authors confirm that the derived data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.