Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar;24(1):228-238.
doi: 10.4314/ahs.v24i1.28.

Newborn and infant hearing screening for early detection of hearing loss in Nairobi, Kenya

Serah Ndegwa  1 , Debara Tucci  2 , James Lemons  3 , Florence Murila  4 , Susan Shepherd  5 , Moses Mwangi  6 , Isaac Macharia  1 , John Ayugi  1
Affiliations

Newborn and infant hearing screening for early detection of hearing loss in Nairobi, Kenya

Serah Ndegwa et al. Afr Health Sci. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Early detection of hearing loss and subsequent intervention leads to better speech, language and educational outcomes giving way to improved social economic prospects in adult life. This can be achieved through establishing newborn and infant hearing screening programs.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of hearing loss in newborns and infants in Nairobi, Kenya.

Methods: A cross-sectional pilot study was conducted at the National hospital and at a sub county hospital immunization clinic. A total of 9,963 babies aged 0-3 years, were enrolled in the hearing screening program through convenient sampling over a period of nine months. A case history was administered followed by Distortion Product Oto-acoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) hearing screening.

Results: The screening coverage rate was 98.6% (9963/10,104). The referral rate for the initial screen was 3.6% (356/ 9,963), the return rate for follow-up rescreening was 72% (258 babies out of 356) with a lost to follow-up rate of 28% (98/356). The referral rate of the second screen was 10% (26/258). All the 26 babies referred from the second screen returned for diagnostic hearing evaluation and were confirmed with hearing loss, yielding a prevalence of 3/1000.

Conclusions: Establishing universal newborn and infant hearing screening programs is essential for early detection and intervention for hearing loss. Data management and efficient follow-up systems are an integral part of achieving diagnostic confirmation of hearing loss and early intervention.

Keywords: Kenya; early detection; hearing loss; hearing screening; infant; newborn.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study Flowchart
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow chart on the diagnosis of hearing loss
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Olusanya BO, Swanepoel de W, Chapchap MJ, Castillo S, Habib H, Mukari S Z, et al. Progress towards early detection services for infants with hearing loss in developing countries. BMC Health Serv Res. 2007;7:14. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-7-14. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mcpherson B. Newborn hearing screening in developing countries. Indian J Med Res. 2012 Feb;135(2):152–153. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yoshinaga-Itano C, Sedey AL, Coulteer DK, Mehl AL. Language of early and later identified children with hearing loss. Paediatrics. 1998;102:1161–1171. Doi: 10.1542/peds.102.5.1161. PMID: 9794949. - PubMed
    1. Elahe S, Zahra J, Maryam G. Effect of Early Intervention on Language Development in Hearing-Impaired Children. Iran J Otorhinolaryngology. 2016 Jan;28(84):13–21. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Watkin P, McCann D, Lawc, Mulee M Petrous, et al. Language ability in children with permanent childhood hearing impairment: The influence of early management and family participation. Paediatrics. 2007;120:E694–E701. Doi: 10.1542/peds.2006-2116. PMID: 17766510. - PubMed