Ensuring Follow-Up

A newborn hearing screening program will only be complete when appropriate follow-up is ensured for those infants that do not pass the hearing screening.

When planning your screening program, make sure you have a system in place to monitor whether necessary follow-up has been obtained for those infants who are referred for either a re-screening or diagnostic follow-up.

If an infant needs to return for a re-screening, it is helpful to schedule an appointment before the family leaves the hospital. Many hospitals have found it helpful to coordinate the re-screening with a follow-up postpartum clinic or second PKU.

At the very least, your program is responsible for making sure that:

• Infants return for any needed re-screening
• Pediatricians of infants that do not pass the hearing screening are well-informed and will ensure that the family obtains a diagnostic audiologic evaluation

See a list of qualified pediatric audiologists (PDF) that provide diagnostic follow-up to infants referred from newborn hearing screening programs.