Do you know that you can get your baby’s hearing checked before stepping out of the hospital after his or her birth? The ear is very complex and includes the outer ear, the middle ear, the inner ear, the hearing nerve, and the auditory system.
The child is able to hear when these components work together. When these components don’t work correctly, it leads to hearing loss. It affects a child’s ability to develop speech, linguistic & social skills. Many hospitals offer the facility of hearing screening for newly born babies.
Loss of impairment of the auditory sense is the most prevalent deficit of all the sensory organs. With virtually no mortality, hearing impairment causes a huge impact on one’s social, educational, and well-being.
There are 5-6 infants who are hard of hearing out of 1000 neonates. Some parents begin to note and wonder, ‘my newborn doesn’t startle at loud noises.’ Statistically, they will not be identified till they attain two or more years of age; by then, irreversible damage would have been done. Universal screening for the hearing ability of newborns is the only way to decrease the burden of deafness in our society. -Source
If your baby cannot hear, the effects can be seen on his or her cognitive development. The doctors examine the baby to check his or her hearing and the results of the screening are added to your baby’s medical records. You can reach out to the hospital to check whether or not the necessary tests were done if you weren’t aware of the fact until now.
Additional testing may be required in case the results of the initial tests don’t turn out to be normal. Sometimes, you might observe that a baby passed hearing test but doesn’t respond to sound. One thing to note here is that out-of-range screening results do not necessarily mean that your child will have a hearing disability. There can be other reasons behind the child not passing the first hearing test.
Babies that do not pass this test are referred for a complete audiology evaluation. At this stage, the audiologist performs a few tests to determine the presence of hearing impairment and its degree & type. In most cases, the audiologist works closely with your baby’s paediatrician to provide the best treatment.
This test evaluates the part of the nerve that transmits sound from the ear to the brain. Miniature earphones are placed in the ears of the baby, and sounds are played. Electrodes in the form of band-aids are placed along your baby’s head to monitor the brain’s response to the sounds. In case your child doesn’t respond, there are chances of your baby having a hearing disability or impairment.
The OAE hearing test for newborns is conducted to determine whether or not certain parts of your baby’s ear respond to the sound. It makes use of a miniature earphone and microphone that are placed in the ear, and sounds are played.
An echo will reflect into the ear canal if the baby has normal hearing during the OAE screening in newborns. On the contrary, your child may have hearing loss if there is no echo.
The test evaluates the working of all parts of the ear. After playing a sound in your baby’s ear, the audiologist monitors the behavioural changes in your baby. The baby will suck a pacifier or search for sound if there is no hearing problem.
To find the exact cause of hearing loss, it’s imperative to know the location of the loss. There are two types of hearing loss:
The loss that is caused by issues in the outer or middle ear is a conductive loss. The causes include middle-ear infection, trapped fluid, wax in the outer ear and issues with the structure of the ear. Surgery, medical treatment and hearing aids are highly helpful in such cases.
Problems in the inner ear or along the nerve to the ear cause this type of hearing loss. The loss is generally permanent in nature and cannot be treated with surgery. A hearing aid or a cochlear implant can be useful in such a type of hearing loss.
If the hearing loss, whether conductive or sensorineural, is major and beyond the control of the scope of medical treatment, the next step is to fit hearing aids in the baby’s ear. A pediatric audiologist fits a suitable hearing aid as per the baby’s hearing loss. Also, constant monitoring is required to keep a check on the progress.
Additionally, parents can also keep a check to help their baby in adjusting to the hearing aid and encourage other therapeutic exercises.
Hearing screening of the newborn baby is conducted to detect hearing loss at the earliest. Still, there are some cases where a baby passes the test but can still have a hearing disability. It is important to keep a check on a few signs even if your child has passed a hearing test. Such situations are:
As a parent, you can’t afford to ignore these signs. Consulting an audiologist in Amritsar is the best thing you can do for your baby.
Not every baby is blessed with normal hearing senses. If your baby is experiencing some symptoms that you think are signs of a hearing loss, talk to the paediatrician in Amritsar at the earliest and learn what all needs to be done.
Moreover, if your newborn passed hearing test but doesn’t startle, it’s time to see a specialist. In case you are expecting a child, then this is the right time to consult your doctor to have a detailed discussion on how you can ensure the well-being of your unborn child. A paediatrician, along with an audiologist in Amritsar can help in diagnosing and treating the hearing problem of your infant.
Amandeep Hospital is well-equipped with modern facilities and paediatricians in Amritsar to treat your baby and help him or her with the hearing loss issue. If you’re searching for an ear hearing test near me, you’re already at the right place! Discuss your concerns with our team of specialists and pave the way for your child to have a normal life. Only through systematic early detection will infants having hearing loss can be assured of a healthy life.
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