Effects of race on hearing screening failure rates in a newborn, well-baby unit

Abstract

At most birthing facilities - including Wesley (Medical Center) in Wichita - trained examiners screen well babies' hearing using a three-stage screening process: an initial otoacoustic emissions (OAE) screening, a second OAE screening for well babies who fail the initial screening, and an automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) screening for well babies who fail the second OAE screening. If a baby fails the three-stage screening, the baby is scheduled for follow-up hearing testing with an audiologist to diagnose if the baby does, indeed, have a hearing loss. This three-stage screening has been performed on all well babies born at Wesley since 2009. Researchers have reported a higher prevalence of hearing loss among Hispanic school-aged children than among children of other races. The purpose of this study was to measure if a higher risk of hearing loss is already present at birth among Hispanic well babies. Specifically, in this retrospective study, investigators reviewed hearing screening and demographic records of 14,648 well babies born at Wesley from 2009-2012, and statistically compared the screening failure rates of Hispanic well babies versus well babies of other races.