Early Detection of Hearing Loss

One of the first tests your baby will undergo while in the hospital will be a hearing test where the nurses test your baby’s ears for early signs of hearing loss. Parents can refuse this test if they prefer, but in most cases it is given to all newborns. Early detection of hearing problems is crucial in helping to prevent complete hearing loss, and giving your child a better chance at a normal life.

Testing Methods
Normally testing will first be done on your newborn before he leaves the hospital, and it is recommended that it is done while your baby sleeps. There are two ways that the doctors may test your baby’s hearing.

The first one is called otoacoustic emissions testing (OAE) and it involves the detection of emissions that are produced by a normal ear in response to incoming sounds. In order to do this the doctor or nurse will insert a small plug housing a microphone in your baby’s ear and sound is then projected into the ear via the plug. If your baby has hearing loss then no emissions will be detected.

The other common test involves auditory brainstem responses (ABR), which are measured by placing electrodes on the baby’s head. While he sleeps, sounds are introduced to the baby through tiny earphones. The electrodes then measure if the brain is detecting the sounds. Even while your baby sleeps there should be some activity in the brain if your baby can hear like normal.

If Hearing Loss Is Not Detected Early
Some parents may wonder what the big deal is if hearing loss is not detected as early as possible in their baby. The answer is simple. Babies learn speech from the sounds around them. They learn to interact and talk buy hearing other people talk. If your baby can not hear sounds, then he could have a delay in speech development making it hard to ever talk to people and interact in society. It could also lead to teasing and hurt feelings once your baby starts school.

If your baby is found to have hearing loss, it doesn’t mean that he won’t be able to go to “hearing” schools or function normally with peers his age. It just means that by taking the steps necessary as early as possible to help your baby, you can make his life a little bit easier as he transitions into the speaking world and make it a little bit easier for him to communicate with those around him.

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