minnesota newborn screening program

Universal Hearing Screening for Primary Care Providers

On this page:

Follow-Up of Newborn Hearing Screens
Fact Sheets on Newborn Hearing Screening
Reporting Rescreen Results and Follow-Up Appointments to MDH
Manuals, Guidelines, and Resources

Follow-Up of Newborn Hearing Screens

Hearing screening results should be reviewed by the baby’s primary care provider at the first clinic visit. If results have not arrived, contact the birth hospital or NICU that cared for the baby and ask to have them faxed over.

It is good practice to review the charts of all newborns seen in clinic to make sure that hearing screens were done and that follow-up has been accomplished.

Babies with REFER results:

All babies who fail their initial tests need to be rescreened. Objective hearing rescreening can be done:

  • in the hospital nursery
  • at the clinic
  • by an audiologist

Objective hearing testing does NOT include:

  • Clapping hands, ringing bells, etc. to see if baby startles
  • Asking parents if there are “any concerns regarding baby’s hearing”

If the baby fails the second screen, the family should be referred to an audiologist or ENT who evaluates very young children as soon as possible.

Hearing Screening Specialist Centers Contact List (PDF: 23KB/3 pages)

DO NOT DELAY FOLLOW-UP. Though hearing screening has an inherently high false positive rate, ignoring abnormal screening tests can lead to delayed diagnosis of hearing loss.

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Fact Sheets on Newborn Hearing Screening

The following fact sheets can be helpful for both parents and providers in discussing and understanding newborn hearing screening results.


Newborn Hearing Screening Family Fact Sheet (PDF: 112KB/ 1page)

Newborn Hearing Screening Provider Fact Sheet (PDF: 112KB/1 page)

Newborn Hearing Screening Technologies (PDF: 111KB/1 page)

Improving Follow-Up of Hearing Screening in the Clinic (PDF: 110KB/1 page)

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Reporting Rescreen Results and Follow-Up Appointments to MDH

All hearing evaluations done after a baby has failed screening in the nursery need to be reported by the clinic to MDH. You can report this information by:

Fax (the fastest way): 651-215-6285

Mail:
Newborn Screening Program
601 Robert Street North
PO Box 64899
Saint Paul, MN 55164

MDH has created a clinic reporting form for the purpose of reporting results. The form is interactive and can be completed on the computer or printed out and complete by hand before faxing.

Hearing Rescreening Reporting Form for Clinics (PDF: 694KB/1page)

Signed, written consent from parents for submitting results to MDH is no longer necessary under the mandatory hearing screening law.

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Manuals, Guidelines, and Resources

Hearing Rescreening Reporting Form for Clinics (PDF: 694KB/1 page)

Guidelines for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention for Medical Providers

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Updated Monday, 31-Dec-2012 13:38:59 CST