Infant Hearing Screening
Are you sure your baby can hear?
Hearing testing is available for your baby.
Why test my baby's
hearing?
- 2-3 infants per 1,000 births are born with
a hearing loss
- Undetected hearing loss can have significant
effects on speech, language, cognition, social and emotional
development.
If you are concerned about your child's speech
and language development or his/her hearing,
click here to check your
child's progress compared
to their peers
- Early detection is vital...Current
research suggests that the earlier a hearing loss
is detected and appropriate
intervention begins the better the outcomes are for the child.
The Hear
and Say Centre advocates the screening of newborn infants hearing (0-6 months)
so that the parents have the option of commencing an early
intervention program as soon as possible, if their baby
is found to be hearing impaired.
A recent State Government decision has resulted in newborn infant
hearing screening now being available in all Queensland hospitals
through the Healthy Hearing Program. This wonderful initiative,
for which Hear and Say Centre was a strong advocate, has reduced
the need for our infant screening program. However, the service
is still available for those babies who, for various reasons,
were not tested via the hospital system.
Parent Experiences "
The Hear and Say Centre Infant Hearing Screening program
was a godsend for us. Not only did they understand that "Babies
Must Not Wait", but equally that parents can't
wait. As our first child is profoundly deaf, we were
very anxious to know about
our second, Charlie, as soon as he was born. We knew
the importance of the early diagnosis of hearing loss
to a child's future – so
we took Charlie to the Hear and Say Centre for testing
on the way home from hospital. It was a simple, quick
process to get
such
an important result."
- Charlie was found
to have normal hearing
"My pregnancy was
a very anxious time for my husband and myself as we
knew the probability of our baby being born deaf was
high. With our first child, we
didn't find out that he was profoundly deaf until he
was 8 and 1⁄2 months old.
A lot of valuable 'learning' time was lost. We knew
it
was
imperative to have Claudia's hearing
tested immediately,
so that if she did have a hearing loss, she would be
able to receive technological intervention (hearing
aids and/or
a cochlear
implant),
together with Auditory-Verbal Therapy to maximise her
speech and language development."
- Claudia was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss.
She is currently fitted with hearing aids, is receiving
Auditory
Verbal Therapy,
and is being evaluated for a cochlear implant.
When should my baby have a hearing test?
Very soon after birth and preferably within the first
three weeks.
How is my baby's hearing screened?
- An automatic test, which
measures a response from your baby's hearing nerves,
is obtained whilst your baby
is asleep.
- This test is accurate, reliable
and takes only a few minutes.
- You will have results immediately after the test is complete.
- The test is safe, painless and non-invasive.
- Small stick-on
jelly tabs are applied to your baby's forehead and
each ear (this is not uncomfortable
for your baby). A headphone will be placed over each ear and testing
will begin.
As most babies sleep after they
have been fed, you can help by timing your babies feed
to take
place once
you have arrived
at
the Centre. This will help
your baby settle and make testing easier.
How accurate is the hearing screening test?
Clinical trials have found that the screening test
has a sensitivity of 100%. This means of all the babies
who
passed
screening in clinical
trails, none were later found to have a congenital
hearing loss (ie present at birth).
Who performs the hearing test?
The hearing screening program is overseen by paediatric
audiologists*.
Fully trained volunteers
may perform some of the tests.
* A paediatric audiologist
is a university trained
hearing scientist who
specialises in working with children.
How do I make an appointment?
Telephone the Hear and
Say Centre on
(07)
3870 2221 during business
hours to
make an appointment.
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