Newborn Hearing Screening at a Single Tertiary Care Hospital in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Background and Aim: The United Arab Emirates has been successfully identifying and rehabilitating children having congenital hearing loss. A dearth of published data regarding the newborn hearing screening programs in the country demands the current study. The study aimed to find incidence of hearing loss and impact of known risk factors for hearing loss in a cohort of newborn babies in a single tertiary hospital in the United Arab Emirates.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of hearing screening from January 2010 to December 2019 on a total of 37661 newborn babies were conducted using a screening protocol in auditory brainstem responses.

Results: We report an overall incidence of 0.16% for congenital hearing loss in the current study population. Babies with prolonged stay in Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) had an incidence of 0.87% and in babies with positive family history of hearing loss, it was as high as 2.2%. Chi square analysis revealed the significance of these risk factors (p<0.001). 72% (44.61) received hearing rehabilitation by being fitted with cochlear implants and hearing aids except in few having other comorbidities.

Conclusion: The newborn screening program has run a successful journey since the beginning in the country and the current study is an example. A majority of children identified has received early audiological rehabilitation helping the country in promoting inclusive education and better quality of life for them. Further studies may be implicated to see the outcome of early rehabilitation initiated in the identified population.

Keywords: Hearing loss; newborn screening; newborn intensive care unit; family history; risk factors