Japan
Japan
- Percent of children screened for hearing loss:
- Incidence of permanent hearing loss among newborns:
Current Status of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention for Children
Many hospitals have implemented UNHS programs and shown that they should be applied within three months of birth and preferably prior to discharge from hospital. The preferred model for screening should begin with an OAE test, followed by an ABR test for all infants who fail the OAE test (a two-stage process) (1, 6/9). However, this two-stage process is not limited to the combined use of OAE & ABR. In practice, many investigators have reported reliable results with other two-stage processes utilizing the same screening technique for re-screening, including AABR & AABR (10/12) and TEOAE & TEOAE (13, 14). Moreover, it has also been emphasized that comprehensive intervention should begin before six months of age. Thus, a consensus on UNHS is spreading around the world, The Japanese Ministry of Health & Welfare began to promote the UNHS project in 1998, and many hospitals have implemented programs of hospital-based newborn hearing screening. However, although there have been good results (18/20), some problems remain.
Demographics
- Population: 127,103,388 (July 2014 est.)
- Number of Annual Births (2012 est): 1,073,000
- Birth rate: 8.07 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)
- Percent of GDP spent on health care (2011): 9.3% of GDP (2011)
- Percent of Health Care expenditures spent by government: 81.3% (2006)
- Physician density: 2.14 physicians/1,000 population (2008)
- Percent of newborns attended by skilled providers: 100%
- Infant Mortality: 2.13 deaths/1,000 live births
- Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write): 99%
- Percent of children screened for hearing loss:
- Incidence of permanent hearing loss among newborns
Publications about EHDI Programs in Japan
- Wada T, Kubo T, Aiba T, Yamane H. Further examination of infants referred from newborn hearing screening. Acta Otolaryngol Suppl. 2004 Oct;(554):17-25. PubMed PMID: 15513505.
- Adachi, N., Ito, K., Sakata, H., and Yamasoba, T. 2010. Etiology and on-year follow-up results of hearing loss identified by screening of newborn hearing in Japan. Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery 143 (10):97-100.
- Fukushima K, Mimaki N, Fukuda S, Nishizaki K. Pilot study of universal newborn hearing screening in Japan: district-based screening program in Okayama. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2008 Mar;117(3):166-71.
- Kobayashi M, Inadera H. [Present situation and future perspectives on newborn hearing screening system in Japan. Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi. 2011 Sep;66(4):696-703.]
- Wada T, Kubo T, Aiba T, Yamane H. Further examination of infants referred from newborn hearing screening. Acta Otolaryngol Suppl. 2004 Oct;(554):17-25.
Person responsible for most recent update:
Name:
Affiliation:
Email: