Why is it so important to implement a neonatal hearing screening program? What are the advantages? How was the screening program structured in Denmark and how successfully has it been implemented?

Read this case story and find inspiration in the interviews with the doctor, the technician, the audiology assistant, the biomedical analyst and the parents. Their different viewpoints don’t just provide important information about what it takes to establish an effective screening program, but also what it’s like working in the front line – and what it’s like to be the subject of the program.

Download the complete MADSEN AccuScreen case story

Table of contents

Universal neonatal hearing screening (UNHS) takes off

Since the early 1990s, UNHS has been slowly but surely gathering momentum around the world. Today, the focus has switched to early intervention.
Read more

Denmark marks time

While the Danish politicians temporize, the National Board of Health begins work on how best to organize and implement a pilot hearing screening project. A working group puts together comprehensive guidelines covering screening protocols, technology, training, information materials, etc., in preparation for kickoff in September, 2004.
Read more

Promising first steps towards UNHS in Denmark

The pilot hearing screening project exceeds all expectations by returning preliminary data with a referral rate of less than 2%. What is going so right?
Read more

Dr. Konrád Konrádsson, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen

Learning from the experiences of other UNHS programs, notably in the USA and UK, the head of audiology at Bispebjerg masterminded the organization, planning and design of an effective and practical screening protocol.
Read more

Erik Kjaerboel, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen

The technical expert, who was recruited to define and implement technology and data collection, played an essential role in the design and development of screening guidelines and an effective training program.
Read more

Audiology assistant Jeanette Frederiksen, Hilleroed Hospital, Hilleroed

Screening high-risk and NICU infants as well as re-screening referrals from the primary screening presents a different set of challenges by combining OAE and AABR measurements in the same working routine.
Read more

Biomedical analysts Kirsten Marie Oestergaard and Mona Asmussen, Hvidovre Hospital

In Denmark, biomedical analysts are manning the front line of hearing screening and sometimes screening up to 8 infants a day each. Fortunately, they find this stimulating and challenging.
Read more

Jakob’s parents, Lars and Karin

For the parents, the option of hearing screening is welcome and not a problem as they have to return to the hospital anyway. There, they experience a quick and rewarding procedure performed by staff that obviously know what they are doing.
Read more

The Danish recipe for success

Combine careful planning, thorough training, and excellent parent information with enthusiastic healthcare personnel, effective data collection and reliable, easy to use equipment – and you get a successful UNHS program.
Read more

Note: variations in the data cited by those interviewed are due to the interviews being carried out at different points in time. The final data for 2005 can be found in the last section of this case story.