The importance of neonatal hearing screening in pediatric patients with high neurological risk

Background: Newborns with neurological risk have factors that predispose them to a high probability of motor, sensory, or cognitive impairments. Objective: To demonstrate the importance of newborn hearing screening and the impact of not performing it in a population with high neurological risk. Material and methods: A retrospective, descriptive study was conducted. We analyzed 123 medical records of patients with high neurological risk, collecting sociodemographic and clinical characteristics related to hospital admission, referral time, newborn hearing screening results, and audiological and neurological diagnoses. Descriptive statistics were performed, including means and standard deviations for quantitative variables and frequencies and percentages for qualitative variables. Contingency tables were constructed. Results: Hearing screening was not performed in 58.5% of patients, and among these, 15.28% had a definitive diagnosis of hearing loss in the right ear, while 16.67% had hearing loss in the left ear. Conclusions: It is necessary to implement health education programs to raise awareness about the importance of audiological follow-up, particularly in vulnerable populations, where the lack of early diagnosis and intervention negatively affects patient development and quality of life.