First results of a national hearing screening programme in Switzerland

A Swiss study group was formed in summer 1998 with the aim of establishing a universal hearing screening programme in newborns following the recommend ations of the "European Consensus Statement on Neonatal Hearing Screening" (Milan 1998). The aim of the group was to standardise and to introduce univ ersal hearing screening in all infants born in Switzerland. Starting in Jun e 1999, several hospitals in Switzerland began the screening programme usin g commercially available equipment for easy and highly automated measuremen t of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions. Up to March 2000, 6262 childre n were born in these hospitals and 5656 (90%) underwent neonatal hearing sc reening. 88 children of the 5656 did not pass the screening test. The measu rement of otoacoustic emissions was repeated in a follow-up examination wit hin 6 weeks. If otoacoustic emissions were again absent, evoked auditory br ainstem potentials were measured. 48 children were found to have hearing wi thin normal limits at the follow-up examination, 24 children have not been examined yet, 11 children were examined in other clinics or the follow-up e xamination was refused by the parents. 5 children were found to have bilate ral hearing dysfunction and were referred to rehabilitation within the firs t 6 months of life.