Risk Factor Screening Process

Key steps

• Beginning March 4, 2024, all babies for whom consent is provided to participate in hearing screening through the Infant Hearing Program (IHP) will receive hearing loss risk factor screening by NSO.    
  • Due to COVID-19 related disruptions to non-essential services, babies born between March 26, 2020, and March 3, 2024, were screened for hearing loss risk factors by NSO without the need for additional consent through the IHP. 
• Risk factor screening uses the dried blood spot sample collected for routine newborn screening to look for CMV and some common variants in the hearing loss genes called GJB2 and SLC26A4. 
  • From February 2024 to May 2025, select hospitals in Ontario took part in an initiative to explore better ways to detect cCMV through screening. As part of this project, dried saliva samples were collected from newborns at participating hospitals. Families of babies who screen positive are contacted by a healthcare provider for follow-up testing and care.
• Testing takes 1-2 weeks to complete, and results are sent to the Infant Hearing Program. 
  • You can request a copy of the results to be sent to your baby's doctor in English.
• Babies who screen positive for CMV or genetic risk factors for PHL will be contacted by Newborn Screening Ontario or their primary care provider to discuss the results and recommended follow-up.