Infection from congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) can have a devastating effect on the development of a child. As a pediatric audiologist, I have witnessed instances of hearing loss where the known culprit was cCMV infection, not to mention innumerable others for which the undetermined cause of hearing loss was likely cCMV. Studies have shown the incidence of hearing loss in newborns with asymptomatic cCMV to be as high as 15%. These are the children that are missed. They are the preschool or elementary school aged children that I see in my clinic with wholly-preventable late diagnoses of hearing loss. They have struggled during years of critical learning because we didn’t provide an easy, painless screening at birth. Universal CMV screening will have a powerful impact on our ability to provide timely intervention, which with early treatment, early monitoring and early education, can make a significant difference for children and their families.
Cheryl Glovsky
AuD, CCC-A