Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder in the wider health context: Experiences of parents whose infants have been identified through newborn hearing screening programme

Abstract

Objective: This paper presents an insight into the parental experiences of how parents made sense of having their child identified with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD), given the broader context of their child's other health issues. Design: Qualitative narrative study. Study sample: Twenty-one families participated whose children had been identified with ANSD through the newborn hearing screening programme. Results: The majority of parents in the sample were overwhelmed with perinatal health issues and initially gave the diagnosis of ANSD very low priority. Conclusions: An understanding of parents’ perspective is particularly relevant to everyone involved in early support and management of infants with ANSD.

Key Words::

• Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder
• Newborn hearing screening

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the families who participated in the study, and the Teachers of the Deaf for supporting the study and help with recruiting families. This work was funded by a grant from the National Deaf Children's Society.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.