Hearing

Newborn hearing screening is standard of care in the United States. In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics endorsed the implementation of a univer­sal newborn hearing screening program (40).

Primary care providers should pay special atten­tion to children with specific disabilities, as they are at greater risk for developing hearing loss. For example, children with Down's syndrome are at increased risk of otitis media and concomitant transient conductive hearing loss (41). Children with congenital cytomega­lovirus (CMV), both symptomatic and asymptomatic at birth, are at risk for progressive and late-onset hear­ing loss (42). Children with athetoid cerebral palsy due to kernicterus have a high incidence of hearing loss, as do children who have been treated with ototoxic antibiotics for systemic infections (43,44).