Assessment of the efficacy of hearing screening program in infants in Zahedan

INTRODUCTION: Hearing loss is one of the major congenital problems. The frequency of this problem in different countries has been found to be 3.5–9%, which may induce negative effects on communications, education, and language learning in children. In addition, diagnosing this problem in infants is not possible without implementing the hearing screening methods. Therefore, the objective of this research was to assess the efficacy of newborn hearing screening programs in Zahedan, Iran. METHOD: In the present cross-sectional observational study, all infants born in the maternity hospitals of Zahedan city (hospitals of Nabi Akram, Imam Ali, and Social Security hospitals) in 2020, were assessed. For conducting the research, TEOAE was primarily performed for all newborns. Following that, according to the findings obtained in the ODA test and in case of inappropriate response, evaluation was performed again for the cases. Cases that were rejected again in the second assessment were subjected to the AABR test and in case of failure in this test, the cases underwent a diagnostic ABR test. RESULTS: According to our findings, 7700 babies were initially assessed with the OAE test. Among them, 580 (8%) showed no OAE response. Out of 580 newborns that were rejected in the first phase, 76 babies were also rejected in the second phase and amongst them, 8 cases were re-diagnosed with hearing loss. Finally, out of 3 infants who were diagnosed with hearing impairments, 1 (33%) had conductive hearing loss and 2 (67%) had sensorineural hearing loss. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this research, the use of comprehensive neonatal hearing screening programs is necessary for on-time diagnosis and therapy of hearing loss. In addition, screening programs could help improving the health of newborns and their personal, social, and educational development in the future.