Early identification and treatment of hearing impairments are essential for children's development. International guidelines recommend a stepwise approach to conduct hearing screening in newborns. However, while the majority of countries worldwide implemented universal newborn hearing screening, inconsistencies remain in procedures and data management....
Audiologists and program managers running newborn hearing screening services should review Italy's five-year findings for benchmarking referral, follow-up loss-to-follow-up rates, and early intervention timelines, though local protocol changes depend on how results compare to their own program data.
Large multi-year national screening databases provide the real-world evidence base needed to refine universal newborn hearing screening protocols and reduce delays in early intervention globally.
- 01Five-year Italian database analysis evaluated newborn hearing screening (NHS) program performance.
- 02Focus was on early identification and treatment of pediatric hearing impairment.
- 03Study highlights both successes and persistent challenges within a national NHS program.
- 04Findings are relevant to benchmarking screening programs internationally.
- 05Published in a peer-reviewed journal (doi: 10.1186/s13052-026-02293-8).
Newborn hearing screening programs face ongoing challenges in early identification and follow-up of pediatric hearing impairment.
studysupported- PMID
- 42351255
- DOI
- 10.1186/s13052-026-02293-8.
- Journal
- Italian Journal of Pediatrics
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Newborns enrolled in a national hearing screening program in Italy over five years
- Intervention
- Newborn hearing screening program
Primary outcomes
Rate of early identification of pediatric hearing impairment; Challenges and gaps in screening program delivery