Newborn hearing test
Hearing impairment is one of the most common congenital anomalies. Severe hearing impairment affects 1 out of 1000 newborn babies, many of whom have no risk factors or symptoms at birth.
How is a hearing test performed?
The most commonly used method for screening a newborn's hearing is TEOAE (transient otoacoustic emission). It is simple and reliable, with no pain or discomfort for the baby, and lasts for a few minutes. It is performed by placing a soft ear tip in the baby's outer ear canal and registering the signal on the device.
Treatment of children with hearing impairment should be started as early as possible, because it ensures excellent results in speech and language abilities. It is recommended to perform screening by the end of 1st month, complete diagnostics by the end of 3rd month, and start rehabilitation by 6th month.
For practical reasons, almost everywhere, hearing screening is performed in the maternity hospital.
If the child does not pass the test in the maternity hospital, does that mean that he/she has a hearing impairment?
No, it does not! The presence of amniotic fluid or vernix in the outer ear canal, noise in the room, the baby's crying, and even the sounds made by the baby sucking or breathing if his/her nose is congested interfere with the test. If the newborn does not pass the initial test, it is repeated after a few weeks (the retest). It is the most practical for parents to have the retest performed in the maternity hospital. If the baby does not pass the retest, he/she is referred for further examination by an audiologist. TEOAE is a screening method, which means that it is not used to make a diagnosis, but to detect children who need additional examination.
Hearing testing in the maternity hospital is not enough for all children. Some children need further hearing monitoring and testing even though they have passed the maternity hospital test. These are children at risk of hearing impairment: preterm babies, children with severe asphyxia at birth, with other congenital anomalies, children who have recovered from bacterial meningitis, children from families with hereditary deafness, etc.
Maternity hospital screening only detects children with hearing impairment at birth. In some children, the impairment manifests itself later, or is mild. Despite passing the test in the maternity hospital, it is still necessary to monitor how the child reacts to sounds, his/her speech development and behavior, and contact a doctor as soon as possible if you suspect that the child cannot hear. If there is hereditary deafness in the family, hearing loss can also manifest itself later and these children should be under the supervision of an audiologist.
Why it is important to detect hearing impairment in time
It is very important to recognize hearing impairment as early as possible, in order to avoid a delay in speech and communication development. Rule 1-3-6 means that hearing screening should be performed in the first month of life, examination and diagnosis of a child who has not passed the test should be completed by 3rd month and rehabilitation of hearing function must begin by 6th month of life at the latest. This ensures that the child fully develops language and speech abilities, and thus realizes his/her full potentials. Hearing rehabilitation is performed by an audiology team, with the involvement of other professionals as needed. If the child has severe bilateral impairment, a hearing aid is sometimes not enough and the problem is successfully solved by installing a cochlear implant.
