The universal newborn hearing screening program in a public hospital: The importance of the day of examination

Objectives Newborn hearing screening programs are already implemented in many countries worldwide. Nonetheless there is still no consensus about the most proper post-birth day of examination. The purpose of this study was to assess the most appropriate day of universal hearing screening program in a public hospital. Material and methods A prospective cohort study was conducted in “Attiko University National Health System Hospital” and included 2494 newborns. They were examined before discharge from the hospital, using transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs). Results From 2494 neonates included in the study, 2129 (85.4%) bilaterally passed the screening examination, while 365 (14.6%) failed the test. Higher levels of “pass” result per day of life were presented the third (90%) and fourth (94%) day of life. These days the referral scores were lower, reaching 6% the 4th post-birth day. Conclusion All infants should be screened for their hearing in the first days of life as otoacoustic emissions can be recorded from the first 24 h of life. If the babies stay in the maternity unit for more that 1–2 days for any reason (protocol of the maternity unit, parents leave in remote areas, etc.) we recommend the 4th day of life as the most appropriate day of examination in order to minimize the false positive (“refer”) results at the initial examination.