Permanent childhood hearing loss (PCHL) impacts negatively on children’s development and lives. Improved outcomes are associated with newborn hearing screening and early intervention. However, not all hearing loss manifests itself during the newborn period. The prevalence of childhood hearing loss increases from 1-1.2/1000 during the newborn period to about 2-4/1000 by 9 years of age. Global surveys revealed that only 33% of the world’s newborns have access to universal newborn hearing screening. Little is known about the status of screening and surveillance of hearing beyond the newborn period. The Coalition for Global Hearing Health Hearing Care Pathways Working Group (CGHH) conducted a survey to increase understanding of the status of hearing screening during early childhood, with a view to developing recommendations for establishing evidence-based programs in different resource settings to mitigate the negative impact of PCHL. 

Objective. This study aimed to explore current practice in hearing screening and intervention during early childhood in countries around the world.

Method. A custom-designed survey was conducted online using REDCap to gather information on the status of hearing screening, surveillance and intervention in early childhood before school entry, and on hearing screening for children at school age. Professionals, medical practitioners, allied health workers and educators were invited to participate to provide information about the region/country in which they provide services.

Result and Discussion. A total of 315 responses were received from respondents across 85 countries on current practice. We examined the diversity of service availability across regions/countries by population size and income level. Findings on current practice were summarized and reported according to WHO regions. The implications for developing new programs for detecting hearing loss during early childhood, and for fine-tuning existing programs will be discussed.