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Is Baby's Hearing Normal?
New Tests Help Provide Answers
By Holly Brown
When we think of a traditional hearing test, we think about raising our hands when we hear a beep. This is how adults take hearing tests, but what about newborns? How can accurate hearing results be obtained when little ones lack the ability to participate in traditional test methods?
According to researchers at the University of Colorado, two to three out of every 1,000 babies born in the United States will have some degree of permanent hearing loss. Sometimes parents suspect a baby has a hearing problem, especially if it is profound, but not always.
Most of the time, mild to severe hearing problems will not be identified until a child is about 2 years old. By this age, say researchers, many babies are already demonstrating delayed speech and language skills and problems with social and emotional development. Studies show that if babies with mild to severe hearing loss can be identified and receive intervention and support before 6 months of age, they will have a much better chance of speaking and socializing normally.
The first test, called an Otoacoustic Emissions test (OAE), is performed by placing a small probe into Baby's ear canal. A series of soft tones is presented through the probe, and tiny emissions, created as the inner ear processes the tones, are recorded by the same probe. The second test is called an Auditory Brainstem Response test (ABR). In this test, electrodes are placed on Baby's head and behind the ears, and soft clicks are presented through earphones. Brainwave activity is recorded as nerves carry the hearing response to the brain. Both tests take only a few minutes and are completely non-invasive.
Test results are read as either "pass" or "fail." Because soft sounds are used, a failing result on either test does not mean a baby has a profound hearing loss. On the contrary, the little one could have a mild or moderate hearing problem, which might not be permanent.
Permanent hearing loss often involves damage to the inner ear, while temporary hearing loss can be caused by something as simple as birth fluid in the ear canal. Noisy test conditions also can cause failure on the screening test. In any case, the failure of either or both tests should be followed up with a medical examination, a re-screen and, if still needed, a diagnostic ABR. This is done in the same way as the ABR screening except that the sounds presented are more like individual notes on a piano and are introduced at varying loudness levels. The test takes longer, and the results are analyzed by an audiologist.
The OAE and ABR tests are reliable in detecting sensorineural hearing losses, which almost always involve mid to high pitches. Occasionally, these tests may miss a low-pitch hearing loss, which is usually a sign of middle ear infection.
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