How conclusive is the newborn hearing test? What are the signs of hearing impairment in babies?

[Pollyanna]

My ds2 (15 weeks) passed the hearing test, but I am wondering how much he hears now

I know he can hear high pitched noises (the phone, my dd3s screams etc), but he really doesn't appear to hear other noises - such as voices etc. I wondered whether it is possible that he has a hearing problem.

[MatNanPlus]

The HV can redo the test as you are concerned and/or refer you to the audio clinic.

[lucyellensmum]

speak to your HV, the newborn test i imagine is testing for congenital conditions that are apparent at birth, but many conditions will manifest themselves later on in life. It could be that you are expecting too much? and looking for responses where they might not be developed yet ? I dont know about this. He might have an ear infection or even a build up of wax so get him looked at if you are worried.

[Pollyanna]

thanks for this - I spoke to the hv this week and she is referring us for more tests - I am trying to gauge if I am being a panicky mother or not

He is quite congested generally so it may be that his hearing has deteriorated since the test. I agree that I could also be expecting him to turn his head/react etc too early - I'm not sure when babies start to do this (I am on my 5th but can't remember when they do things )

[ReallyTired]

It may well be that your little one has glue ear. I am not sure how the newborn baby test works, certainly my son passed the newborn baby test, but then had horrific problems with glue ear.

If I was you I would go with your gut instinct. The fact that you had five children means you are experienced. I wish i had pushed for my son's hearing to be tested sooner.

A 15 week old baby should certainly be reacting to voices. If your lo needs hearing aids then the sooner he gets them the better. Children's hearing aids are fanastic. My son was gutted when he had to give his Doctor Who hearing aids back.