Positively Parenting: Should I test my child's hearing?

Once a month, we pose a question submitted by one of our readers to a local professional or expert regarding parenting issues. For this issue, a reader submitted a question about hearing tests. We turned to our very own island audiologist Dr. Jennifer Esse for the answer.

QUESTION:

“Many people in my family have hearing problems. How soon should I have my child tested?”

ANSWER:

My first question to the family would be to identify if the family history of hearing loss involves early onset or congenital hearing loss, as opposed to family history of hearing loss that began later in life.

Congenital hearing loss is hearing loss acquired prior to, during, or shortly after a baby is born. Even if the newborn passes their infant hearing screening, a family history of congenital hearing loss would prompt me to recommend diagnostic testing at 3 months and again at 6 months of age, then repeated every 6 months until the age of 2. Once normal hearing patterns are established after the age of 2, and normal speech-and-language has begun to develop, annual testing until age 5 is recommended.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), hearing loss is one of the most frequently occurring birth defects; approximately three infants per 1,000 are born with moderate, profound or severe hearing loss. Hearing loss is even more common in infants admitted to intensive care units at birth. If hearing loss is not detected and treated early, it can impede speech, language and cognitive development.

The AAP developed an Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program with a 1-3-6 rule: screening by 1 month of age, diagnosis of hearing loss by 3 months of age, and entry into early intervention by 6 months of age.

With early intervention in mind, states have taken action to ensure children are screened and treated early for hearing loss. As of 2000, the state of South Carolina implemented an EHDI program called FirstSound that mandates that all hospitals or birthing centers that birth 100 or more babies per year screen newborns for hearing loss before they are discharged.

Infants who do not pass the initial hearing screening are referred out for re-screening; this must be performed before the infant is 1 month old. If the infant does not pass the re-screening, diagnostic hearing testing with a participating audiologist must happen before 3 months of age. If the audiologist confirms hearing loss, the infant and their family is referred to Babynet (DHEC) by 6 months of age. Babynet will work with the family to get the infant the hearing intervention services needed.

DHEC also tracks infants for three years if they pass their hospital screening but are at high risk for developing hearing loss.

The following are risk factors that require additional testing after a successful newborn hearing screening:

• Family history of permanent hearing loss in childhood.

• Maternal infections during pregnancy or delivery (Toxoplasmosis, Syphilis, HIV, Hepatitis B, Rubella , CMV, Herpes simplex, and others).

• Physical problems of the head, face, ears, or neck (cleft lip/palate, ear pits/tags, atresia, and others).

• Medications that are known to be toxic to the ears and hearing that were given in the neonatal period.

• Syndrome associated with hearing loss (Pendred, Usher, Waardenburg, Neurofibromatosis)

• Admission to a neonatal intensive care unit greater than five days.

• Prematurity (

• Hyperbilirubinemia

Other reasons to consider scheduling a hearing test:

• Parent/caregiver concern regarding hearing.

• Delays in speech/language development.

• Recurrent middle ear infections or one episode lasting

• Head trauma associated with loss of consciousness or skull fracture.

• Bacterial meningitis and other infections (mumps, encephalitis, viral labyrinthitis).

• Exposure to potentially damaging noise levels.

• Medications known to be toxic to the ears and hearing received at any time (includes many chemotherapeutic medications and high dose IV antibiotics).

Hearing is a complex sense! If you have any concerns about your child’s hearing it’s never too early to get a hearing evaluation!

Dr. Jennifer Esse is a licensed Doctor of Audiology, which allows her to evaluate, diagnose, and treat hearing loss and hearing disorders, as well as prescribe hearing aids and assistive listening devices. Dr. Esse is located in the Palmetto Primary Care suites on Island Park Drive.

Resources:
www.aap.org
www.infanthearing.org
www.scdhec.gov
www.ncsl.org

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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