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Why is newborn hearing screening important?
Communication and language start to develop at birth. A child with hearing loss may have difficulty with communication and language development without early help. If a baby has hearing loss, it is usually not noticeable to parents or providers because some babies with hearing loss may startle to loud sounds and even appear to listen.
Every year, about one in 300 babies in Minnesota is born with a hearing loss that can be found through newborn hearing screening. Screening with follow-up testing is the only way to find hearing loss early. Learning that your baby has hearing loss at an early age will help you and your child develop lifelong communication and language skills.
When should my baby’s hearing be screened?
Screening should be done as soon as possible and is best completed before your baby is 1 month old. It is typically offered to you at the hospital after giving birth.
How will my baby’s hearing be screened?
Unlike hearing tests for older children and adults, newborn hearing screening does not require your baby to raise their hand in response to test sounds. Rather, newborn hearing screening measures your baby’s internal response to test sounds.
Newborn hearing screening is performed while your baby is calm. The two methods currently in use for newborn hearing screening are Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) and Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (AABR). Both are acceptable for screening babies.
With OAEs, a soft rubber tip placed in each ear delivers soft tones and measures an echo that occurs when the ear is functioning normally. With AABRs, earphones deliver the test sounds. Sensors placed on the baby’s head and neck measure the baby’s internal response to those sounds.
For both OAEs and AABRs, a computer measures whether the result is a PASS or a REFER (not pass).
What do the results mean?
If your baby receives a PASS result, the screening indicates that your baby’s hearing is normal at that time. Because hearing loss can occur at any time during a person’s life, concerns for hearing loss or missed speech milestones should be brought to a provider’s attention.
If your baby receives a REFER result, the screening indicates that further testing is needed to make sure your baby is hearing all the sounds important for speech and language development. Your health care provider will help you arrange an appointment for follow-up as soon as possible.
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program
Minnesota’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Program assists in identifying newborns and infants who have or are at risk of having hearing loss, and guides families to appropriate intervention services.
The goals of the EHDI program are for all babies to have:
Identifying babies with hearing loss early and offering education, family support and intervention can make a big difference.
Minnesota’s EHDI program website provides resources for parents, providers and other professionals. Parents will learn about the EHDI process, find materials that will guide them through identification and intervention, and find hearing specialists and education resources in their area. In addition, the site contains information to connect parents with family and community resources locally available. You can also refer your child directly for developmental screening, evaluation and intervention support at www.helpmegrowmn.org.
Minnesota’s EHDI website: www.improveehdi.org/mn
This article was adapted from the Minnesota Department of Health Newborn Hearing Screening Program. Read the original article.
If you have concerns about a child's development and think a child might need extra help to learn and grow, don't hesitate to refer a child.
The family will be contacted by the local school district to arrange for a screening or evaluation to determine if their child is eligible for Infant and Toddler Intervention or Preschool Special Education services in Minnesota.
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