Hearing screening in health examination services for young children at health centers in Japan

Summary The infant hearing screening program (IHSP) was devised for the early discovery of severe to profound hearing impairments in children. The program has been planned for use in the ordinary health examination services (with a follow-up program) for young children in health centers. The IHSP consists of a three-part test battery: a high-risk register for deafness, a developmental test of auditory function, and an auditory behavioral test. From 1977 to 1983, 22,443 young children were screened in four health centers in Osaka City. Ten of these children were identified as having serious hearing loss. Five of these 10 children were below 11 months of age. The incidence of children with severe to profound hearing impairment was inferred to be approximately 0.04% in the general population of young children. Certain problems occurred in the IHSP, and included a high level of over-referrals. However, the IHSP was considered to be a useful screening method for the early detection of severe hearing impairments when used in general health check-ups in health centers.