The second leading cause of hearing loss in the United States comes from congenital cytomegalovirus, or CMV. It is also the most common congenital infection among infants, affecting about 1 in 150 children in the United States each year. Infants who contract the infection before birth can suffer from hearing loss and potential damage in the brain, eyes or inner ear.
Utah was the first state requiring CMV screening for babies who fail newborn hearing tests. Arecent University of Utah study shows early identification of infants with CMV increased after the state law went into effect.
“The newborn screenings that we have are so important," said Stephanie McVicar, co-author of the study and the program manager for the early hearing detection intervention program at the Utah Department of Health. "The reason why they’re done because they really can make a difference in a child’s life by getting the help that they need early. The sooner a hearing loss is diagnosed, the sooner the child can be given access to communication.”
Utah has one of the highest birth rates in the nation, and early screening for CMV means quicker resources for parents and infants with the infection.
“We were able to catch a lot of babies—and we still are—that would not have been diagnosed otherwise if we didn’t have this law," McVicar said.
Marissa Diener, lead author and University of Utah professor, says the law helps doctors identify the infection early.
“The legislation and the educational campaign surrounding the legislation seemed to help infants not just the ones with the CMV virus but actually helped all infants be more likely to undergo diagnostic hearing evaluation by 3 months of age," she said.
