According to the latest annual report from Newborn Hearing Screening Wales (NBHSW), the uptake of newborn screening in Wales remained significantly high last year at 99.4 per cent.
The report indicates that nearly three-quarters of well babies were screened within 7 days of birth. Furthermore, 100 per cent of high-risk babies and 98.3 per cent of well babies underwent screening within 4 weeks of birth.
A total of 32,257 babies were screened, of which 1.3 per cent were referred for assessment. Thirty-eight babies were found to have a bilateral moderate or greater permanent hearing loss (>40 dBHL), which translates to a prevalence of 1.1/1000 babies screened. More than 90 per cent of babies with confirmed hearing loss received hearing aids within four weeks of diagnosis.
Emphasising the importance of early hearing screening, Ruth Lawler, Head of Maternal and Child Screening at Public Health Wales, said that uncorrected hearing loss could affect the speech and language development of children.