# Newborn hearing screening

Intervention · id `maternal:newborn-hearing-screening` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `fc5a600ec7387e71` (public)

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Also called: Newborn hearing test

Browse, life stage: Newborn; Infant follow-up  
Browse, care area: Newborn care  

## In plain language

A hearing test that measures the baby's response to sound, offered to newborns before they leave hospital.

## Technical summary

Source: the MedlinePlus Newborn Screening topic (NLM) lists the hearing test among the tests a newborn has before leaving the hospital. The US Preventive Services Task Force 2008 statement on this screening was published in Pediatrics, an AAP journal; AAP-published content is identity-only in this atlas, so only its existence is recorded. The Task Force website now lists the topic as inactive. The sources read do not describe the test method or the follow-up steps.

## Claims, with the population each applies to

## Context: All newborn infants (USPSTF 2008 hearing screening recommendation)

Recipient: Newborn; Population: All newborn infants, as the topic title says. The topic page gives no other limits.; Care setting: Not stated in the source.; Geography: United States, as the issuer is the US Preventive Services Task Force; the page names no jurisdiction.; Life stage: Newborn period; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not applicable: a topic status notice.

### The US Preventive Services Task Force website lists its topic Hearing Loss in Newborns: Screening as inactive. The Task Force decided not to review the evidence and update its recommendations for this topic, and its notice says the previous evidence review and recommendation may contain information that is outdated.

- Category: Regulatory
- Evidence stage: Guidance
- Certainty: Certainty not assessed
- Applies to: Recipient: Newborn; Population: All newborn infants, as the topic title says. The topic page gives no other limits.; Care setting: Not stated in the source.; Geography: United States, as the issuer is the US Preventive Services Task Force; the page names no jurisdiction.; Life stage: Newborn period; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not applicable: a topic status notice.
- Limitations: The page states the status of the topic and not the content of the 2008 recommendation, which is not recorded here because the 2008 statement was published in Pediatrics, an AAP journal, and AAP-published content is identity-only in this atlas. The page does not give the date of the inactive decision.
- Last checked: Not recorded
- Sources:
  1. Supports: Hearing Loss in Newborns: Screening (USPSTF topic page, inactive) (Webpage, edition Topic page as fetched on 2026-10-14 (mh-uspstf-hearing-newborns.html). The page is marked Inactive and carries a notice that the Task Force decided not to review the evidence and update this topic.) <https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/hearing-loss-in-newborns-screening>
     Locator: Page heading and inactive notice, sentences 1 and 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:26:45Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: e1728947baecfa0dc7043b286e2b03e04ebb224d9c9bbe1b7c501e78f6e0dfb9.
     How it applies: The Task Force marks the topic inactive.

## Connected pages

- Part of the newborn screening set: Newborn screening (`maternal:newborn-screening`)
- Filed under this front: Screening and tests (`maternal:front-screening-and-tests`)

## Provenance

Content hash: b0047e2f6c29d8f80fe2616162358fa147c3b3297c0dfd1e063be2a321381cb4
Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14
Evidence last checked: Not recorded