Language Outcomes in Deaf or Hard of Hearing Teenagers Who Are Spoken Language Users: Effects of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and Early Confirmation.

Only 60 of 120 deaf or hard of hearing teenagers provided receptive spoken language data and 59 provided expressive data, so attrition reduced the sample. Teenagers who used British Sign Language as their preferred language or had severe additional disabilities were excluded from these spoken language analyses. The retained teenagers had higher receptive language scores at the earlier assessment than those who did not provide spoken language data. There was high variation within the screened and unscreened and the early and late confirmed groups, which may have limited the study's ability to detect differences. The cochlear implant subgroup had only 12 participants, so it is too small to support a firm conclusion. Only one participant received a cochlear implant before age 3, so the results may not match current early implantation practice. The expressive narrative measure and mean length of utterance may not capture grammar and complexity well. Residual confounding from family engagement and other unmeasured variables may explain associations.

Do not conclude that newborn hearing screening and early confirmation do not matter. The teenage whole-sample language results did not show a clear benefit, but the study had a reduced spoken language sample and high within-group variation, and early confirmation was associated with better receptive language in teenagers without cochlear implants.