Limitations of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening in Early Identification of Pediatric Cochlear Implant Candidates

Abstract

Almost one-third of our pediatric implant recipients pass UNHS and are older at the time of initial diagnosis and implantation than their peers who fail UNHS. Delayed onset of SNHL limits our ability to achieve early diagnosis and implantation of a significant number of deaf children. This problem will not be solved by the current design of universal hearing screening programs.