Pre-school hearing screening is necessary to detect childhood hearing loss after the newborn period: a study exploring risk factors, additional disabilities, and referral pathways.

Objective: To explore strategies for detecting childhood hearing loss, aside from newborn hearing screening.

Design: A retrospective review of medical records on the modes of detection of hearing loss, risk factors for late-onset hearing loss, hearing loss degree, aetiology, additional disabilities, and timelines from referral to intervention.

Study sample: Children, born 2006 to 2015, enrolled for intervention whose hearing loss was detected up to age 7 years but not from newborn hearing screening (n = 326).

Results: Universal pre-school hearing screening detected 38% of the cohort at 4-5 years of age. Risk factors for late-onset hearing loss were present in 36% of children, 80% of whom had a reported family history. Sixty-nine percent had mild bilateral or unilateral hearing loss. Children with additional disabilities faced significantly longer delays from referral to intervention. Children self-referred due to parent concern had more severe degree of hearing loss than those referred from screening.

Conclusion: Most children with hearing loss detected after the newborn period do not have any known risk factors for late-onset hearing loss. Pre-school hearing screening is needed for comprehensive detection of hearing loss in early childhood. More work is needed towards improving timely diagnosis and intervention for children with additional disabilities.