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Research has shown that children with hearing loss who receive intervention prior to six months of age can go on to develop language in the normal range. Based on these findings, it is crucial to determine, as early in life as possible, if a child is experiencing hearing loss.
Thanks to the "Little Ears" program at PAHCS, newborns can be screened within the first two weeks of their birth. Little Ears is part of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening [UNHS], a national initiative to perform accurate and safe hearing screening to all newborns.
The baby's hearing will be screened using Otacoustic Emissions [OAE]. OAE screening is a safe, noninvasive, highly accurate procedure that involves no risk for the baby. The screening is conducted by placing a small, soft probe in the baby's ear canal. The probe records faint echoes made by a healthy ear in response to soft tones presented during the screening procedure. The screening takes approximately 15 minutes.
If a baby does not pass the test, it is repeated within four to six weeks. If the baby still doesn't pass, the baby is referred to an audiologist before the age of three months. Of the babies who need more testing, only 20 percent can expect to be diagnosed with some form of hearing loss.
While the percentages are relatively low, hearing loss occurs more often than other diseases for which babies are screened [six per 1000].
Without UNHS, the average age of identification of hearing loss is 2.5 years in the state of Minnesota. Despite this, Minnesota is not one of the 20 states that have already mandated UNHS.
The goals of UNHS are: to screen every baby at birth; obtain an audiological evaluation before three months of age; start educational intervention before six months of age; and provide an uncomplicated path from screening to assessment and to intervention. The UNHS program "Little Ears" is working to meet those goals.
Is Your Baby At Risk For Hearing Loss?
Children do not have to have any of the known risk factors to be diagnosed with hearing loss.
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