Methodological Quality of Clinical Guidelines for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
Kamenov, K., & Chadha, S. (2021).
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 63(1), 16-21.
This systematic review investigates the available recommendations for conducting universal newborn hearing screening in infants.
Not stated
This umbrella systematic review contains a number of guidelines on universal newborn hearing screening programs. Included guidelines are noted in the Associated Article section below.
2004 - 2019
Clinical practice guidelines
6 guidelines
Physiological tests such as automated auditory brainstem response and otoacoustic emissions are used as hearing measures for universal newborn hearing screening across six international guidelines. Exact testing recommendations vary by guideline.
Across six international guidelines on universal newborn hearing screening, a variety of healthcare providers may conduct screening; however, "audiologists oversee the whole process from screening to early interventions and are responsible for further testing in case a newborn is referred after initial screening" (p. 18).
For universal newborn hearing screening of infants, six guidelines recommend a 1-3-6 benchmark of screening by 1 month, audiological diagnosis by 3 months, and enrollment in early intervention services by 6 months of age.
