Audiology Questions
(from Wisconsin Health Pages)
What are the first signs that parents should look for when they are suspicious of a hearing loss?
Unless a family has reason to expect the possibility of a hearing loss, some of the early signs may be missed. Sometimes, hoping that suspicions are not true, parents wait before having their baby's hearing checked. However, it's important to test the child's hearing as soon as you suspect that there may be a problem. If there is a hearing loss, it can be assessed and when appropriate, the baby can be fitted with hearing aids. You should be concerned if you notice that:
- Your infant does not startle to loud or sudden noises, or turn toward sound.
- By 8 months, the baby is not cooing, babbling, or laughing.
- By 12 months, the child is not trying to imitate sounds and actions in turn-taking games or is not understanding simple commands.
What are the effects of newborn screening? Is this a diagnosis? If a baby passes the screening, is everything okay? If they fail, are they deaf or hard of hearing?
The screening is a simple test done by a trained hearing screener which takes only a few minutes to perform. It is not a comprehensive testing of hearing. Its purpose is to identify babies that need further testing to determine the presence of a hearing loss. If a baby does not pass the screening test, more thorough hearing testing is normally done before a diagnosis is made. It is important for parents to realize that in screening, there can be "false positives." Screenings are not comprehensive. A baby may fail the screening, but follow-up testing can indicate no hearing loss. On the other hand, a baby may pass the screening, yet in time, a hearing loss may be identified.
How often should a child have his or her hearing tested?
Initially, when a hearing loss is suspected, it is recommended that a child undergo testing using an Auditory Brain Response (ABR) which does not require the child to respond; rather, it measures brain activity. If the ABR reveals a hearing loss, more testing is usually done. During the process of more accurately determining the exact degree of hearing loss, the pediatrician, the otologist, and/or the audiologist may recommend more frequent testing. Children with hearing loss are not easy to test. It will take a series of tests as the child gets older and can cooperate better, to fully determine the type and extent of the hearing loss. Audiologists' opinions differ on how often a young child should be tested. Most recommend that children under three years of age be tested every six months. After that, unless a child has an ear infection or is not responding as is expected, a comprehensive evaluation once a year should be sufficient.
Why Is Early Hearing Important?
Researchers have found that children whose hearing loss is identified while they are still babies tend to learn language more easily and more completely than those whose hearing loss is identified later. With newborn hearing screening, many children are discovered to be deaf or hard of hearing during the important first few months of life. This may give their parents a great advantage in seeking and providing the kind of support that enables their children to learn language naturally and on time. Until recently, little information was available to help parents with this task. However, during the 1980s and 1990s, research teams watched deaf and hard of hearing babies grow, measured their achievements, and identified the kinds of interaction with parents and other adults that gave them the best start. (Spencer, 2001)
