"Though newborn Sean, 8 pounds and 6 ounces, was not awake to realize it, his hearing was being tested 36 hours after he was brought into this world. I stood witness to this while the female audiologist took Sean's bassinet upstairs to a normal-looking computer with strange cables hooked up to it. The audiologist placed a small plastic probe attached to one of the wires in the baby's right ear, then typed some keys on the computer. A complicated, variegated array of graphics showed up on-screen.
This simple test can identify hearing-impaired children so they can get early treatment that will help them to cope with the challenges of their conditions. Annually, 4000 babies are born within the US with serious hearing problems, while 24,000 more are born with less critical forms of hearing loss. This particular procedure is known as an OAE (otoacoustic emissions) test, which is used to gather data for parents and doctors regarding the ability of their newborn to hear, and subsequently attempt to correct or mitigate the effects of this potential disability.
It is common for hearing impairment to go undetected until a child is 2 or 3 years old. This can lead to tragic results for the child. For these children, early speech and language development become delayed. The children are delayed in speaking and they have lost out on the information about their surroundings that comes through hearing. Much emotional and intellectual development occurs within the first two years of growth. Children who don't hear well have been wrongly thought to be mentally deficient.
The OAE testing procedure was introduced back in 1990, making the ability to test every newly born baby much more cost effective and simple to do. Audiologists now can use a an auditory brain stem response test, which is extremely accurate. Electrodes are hooked up to the child's body to gauge their auditory nerve activity as it makes its way up to the brain.
The complicated ABR test is very accurate but it takes a half hour, costs ninety dollars or more, and a physician or audiologist must administer the test. There aren't enough physicians and audiologists in the world to give the test to every newborn.
The OAE is more cost effective and easier to administer therefore does not require a full time audiologist. This test measures the vibration of the small hair cells in the cochlea when they are exposed to sound, and takes a total of five minutes.
In the test I observed, sound was sent by the transmitter into the infant's ear, and the resulting vibration of the hair cells was picked up by the microphone. After the test was administered on one side the audiologist shifted the baby to his other side to repeat the procedure, looking pleased with the results she was seeing. Fortunately, Sean's hearing fell within normal range.
When the first test is not passed, another test is scheduled for the following week. The reason is that during birth some fluid can be pushed into the ear canal, which can make the baby's tests come out poorly. If the test that is performed a week after the first failed test comes up with poor results, then an auditory brain stem response test is given to the baby to further pinpoint the issue. A plan to deal with the issue is then devised among the pediatrician, audiologist and parents.
If the hearing loss is minor, a hearing aid can be fitted as early as 3 months of age. Hearing aids may be all that's required to bring a newborn's hearing into a normal range. Once a baby comes to be eighteen months old, a surgeon will be able to conduct a cochlear implant, which is a surgery involving permanent rectification for their hearing conditions.
For those cases where the hearing loss is more severe, parents must spend more time with the infant and use visual cues when teaching the baby about the surrounding environment. If such an infant receives this intensive focus from the parents, he will be more likely to develop intellectual and emotional skills at the normal rate. The parents will also have to decide which approach to use when trying to develop communication skills; the list of potential methods includes American Sign Language, cued speech, hearing aids and lip-reading, all of whom have their supporters."
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