Fall 2002 Volume Six Number One

• Universal Hearing Screening for Newborns Recommended
—Hearing checks for all infants.

Hearing loss is one of the most common abnormalities present at birth. It occurs in about 3 of every 1000 newborns. Children with significant hearing loss usually have parents and families with normal hearing, and often show no outward sign of their deafness.

As a consequence, parents and physicians often fail to recognize hearing loss in the first year of life. In fact, until recently the nationwide average age of diagnosis of these children was about two to three years old!

Hearing is essential for normal language, cognitive and educational development. It is important to discover hearing loss as soon as possible. The earlier that hearing loss is identified and intervention begins, the better a child’s chance to develop age-appropriate language, cognitive and social skills. Recent research has shown that infants in whom hearing loss is discovered and intervention begun before 6 months of age have a better chance of developing normal language ability than do children who are identified later.

Early diagnosis provides the opportunity for babies to begin communication training, and to be fitted early with hearing aids or other special hearing devices called cochlear implants. These interventions can make an enormous difference in language development.

In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended development of universal newborn hearing screening programs. This means that all newborns nationwide should have their hearing tested prior to discharge from the hospital. The goal is that all infants born with significant hearing loss will be identified by three months of age and will have intervention initiated by six months of age.

Testing a newborn’s hearing is done most commonly by a test called the otoacoustic emissions test, or OAE. This test is done by placing a probe in the ear canal and recording the response of the inner ear, or cochlea, to sound. Each hospital performs the newborn hearing screen as part of the newborn’s general hospital cares. The cost of the testing, about 25 dollars per infant, is usually covered by insurance.

If a baby fails the hearing test in the hospital, the pediatrician will be notified. The next step is usually referral to an audiologist, an expert in hearing loss and speech communication.

Although this screening will help us detect most childhood hearing loss, ongoing surveillance of hearing at regular well child checkups is important since hearing loss can also develop after birth, usually between six months to three years of age.

The bottom line is that undetected hearing loss can have a significant impact on a child’s development. Screening of all newborns prior to discharge from the hospital will help us identify children with hearing loss earlier, so we can help them maximize their ability to hear, speak and learn.

—Trudie Sprenkle, MD