Early detection of hearing loss for infants in Western Australia: Comparison to international benchmarks

To assess the degree to which timely audiological assessment of congenital hearing loss is achieved at our institution - Perth Children's Hospital, Western Australia, and to review cases which breached this timeframe in order to address barriers to timely assessment. The benchmark used to determine timely assessment is that set out by The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) in which diagnostic audiological testing occurs by three months of age for those who do not pass newborn hearing screening.

Citation:
Reid A, Firns S, Tao K, Maywood E, ………. Brennan-Jones C. Early detection of hearing loss for infants in Western Australia: Comparison to international benchmarks. J Paediatr Child Health. 2021.

Keywords:
ENT; audiology; congenital hearing loss; deafness; general paediatrics

Abstract:
To assess the degree to which timely audiological assessment of congenital hearing loss is achieved at our institution - Perth Children's Hospital, Western Australia, and to review cases which breached this timeframe in order to address barriers to timely assessment. The benchmark used to determine timely assessment is that set out by The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) in which diagnostic audiological testing occurs by three months of age for those who do not pass newborn hearing screening.