Permanent neonatal hearing loss can significantly impact language, cognitive, and social development. Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) facilitates early detection and intervention, yet coverage and follow-up remain inconsistent, especially in low- and middle-income regions....
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Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
The program coverage rates, identified risk factors, and outcome data from this large Iranian cohort may offer benchmarking insights for similar regional screening programs, but do not require changes to established screening protocols in other settings.
Large-scale real-world data on newborn hearing screening programs—especially from lower-resource settings—help identify gaps in coverage and risk factors that can guide public health policy and early intervention efforts globally.
- 01Large-scale evaluation of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) in Southwest Iran.
- 02Study assesses program coverage, neonatal hearing loss risk factors, and follow-up outcomes.
- 03Published in European Archives of Otorhinolaryngology (2026).
- 04Findings can benchmark UNHS performance and highlight at-risk populations.
- 05Results may be especially relevant for low- and middle-income country screening programs.
Universal newborn hearing screening in Southwest Iran identified specific risk factors associated with neonatal hearing loss in a large population.
studypartially supportedProgram coverage and outcomes were measurable at a population scale in the Southwest Iran UNHS program.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42827164
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00405-026-10658-2.
- Journal
- European Archives of Otorhinolaryngology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Newborns screened through the universal newborn hearing screening program in Southwest Iran
- Intervention
- Universal newborn hearing screening program
Primary outcomes
Program coverage rates; Risk factors for neonatal hearing loss; Screening and follow-up outcomes