NEWBORN HEARING SCREENING - COMPARISON OF A SIMPLIFIED OTOACOUSTIC EMISSIONS DEVICE (ILO1088) WITH THE ILO88

Introduction: The acceptance of universal newborn hearing screening ha s been affected by the availability of an accurate, cost-effective too l. Transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) procedures have been used successfully in hospital-based programs. A modified TEOAE method, using a narrow band signal, may be capable of maintaining accuracy wh ile reducing test time. A comparison between a simplified narrow band TEOAE screening device (ILO1088-Echosensor) and the standard ILO88 Qui ckscreen mode was initiated in this study. Methods: One thousand ears of newborns in a normal nursery were tested using both devices. Result s: Results demonstrated that there was good agreement between the two devices. The possibility that the 5.9% discrepancy between the two scr eeners may be related to restrictions in the protocol that prohibited calibrating or refitting the probe during the test should be explored. Discussion: The ILO1088 automated screener demonstrated good potentia l as a quick, accurate hearing screening device for newborns with the potential of reducing screener training and the need for off-line inte rpretation of the results when employed in a universal program.