Postponement of the Newborn Hearing Screening during the COVID-19 Pandemic; Parental Experiences and Worries

Abstract

Early identification of hearing loss through newborn hearing screening followed by an early start of intervention has proven to be effective in promoting speech and language development in children with hearing loss. During the COVID-19 pandemic, newborn hearing screening was postponed for a group of newborns in the Netherlands. Therefore, meeting the guidelines for early identification was at risk. In this study, we examine parental attitudes, beliefs, and experiences concerning the hearing screening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results indicated that parents (n = 1053) were very positive about newborn hearing screening and their experiences with the screening, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents’ beliefs on the information provision around newborn hearing screening were more inconsistent. The results showed that parents with a postponed hearing screening felt less informed about the hearing screening than parents without a postponed screening. Furthermore, child and family characteristics affected how parents experienced newborn hearing screening. Parents with a premature child were more worried about the hearing abilities of their child before the screening took place. The results also indicate that deafness in the family might lead to parental worries around newborn hearing screening.