Failed newborn hearing test

[Laurendx]

Hi,

My baby failed her newborn hearing test twice and was told It could be due to possible fluid as she was born via section. After failing both tests she was referred to audiology where they done and abr test.... however she was unsettled the whole time wasnt sleeping much at all and the wires kept falling off. They then made another appointment as they were unable to complete the test for those reasons. The following appointment was the same she was barely sleeping and the wires were constantly falling off. They said that from the info that she seemed to have a mild hearing loss but I am scheduled to take her again next week for the same test again. Does anyone have any experience of this? Could it be a false positive result for the reasons I mentioned? I'm going out of my mind with worry.

Thanks

Loz

Yes, 10 years ago mind but. My ds1 failed his newborn screening and at retest failed again, he was also born by section. We went in total 4 times over 3 months and every time his hearing improved as the water from his ears cleared, they retested him at 10 months old and his retest indicated a 45db in the mid frequency, repeat tests confirmed and he was aided 1 month later. Due to aids being in place from so young he has never had a delay in speech, and is now completeing his last year of primary, his hearing loss has never held him back either socially or academically,. I know that all this is new and scary but if she does have a loss then the sooner its picked up the better.

Both of mine failed newborn hearing test.
Dd1 passed later on and fluid was given as the reason.
Dd2's journey was very similar to @phillipa12 and she is now 4 has been aided since 4 months and has just started school & has no issues with speech or academically.
Socially it is more challenging but tbh still early days and difficult to know whether it is hearing or temperament related!

It could be false test or it could be hearing loss either way enjoy your precious baby & try not to worry too much.

Thanks for your replies. I think had she been content during the test I would take the results as they were but seen as it was such a mission I am abit dubious. Xx

Both mine failed the original hearing test and then had the test you describe with audiology. Both passed this, but were thankfully very cooperative and with the process. Does your little one startle?

Personally, until the test had been carried out properly, I wouldn't worry too much.

Hi Susie,

Yeah she was startling a few times. She wasnt asleep much at all throughout the whole process and as I mentioned previous the wires were constantly coming off. How many weeks old were your kids when the had the test? Did it take long? We were there for almost 3 hours to give you an idea of how not straightforward it was. Just feeling abit upset as they seem to think those results maybe be reliable but I'm no so sure xx

Mine were both very young. From memory I think maybe two weeks old? Yes, it took ages... About two hours - and that was with a reasonably cooperative baby who was mostly asleep. I remember even with a still child the wires kept coming loose, but they had some system to detect "background noise/interfence" and when it reached a certain threshold they had to stop the test.

Was totally nerve-wracking, so I understand your concern. But the fact he startles would hopefully suggest that even if there is an issue (which there might not be, or it might be something really simple like glue ear) it might not be that severe.

What are they suggesting for next steps?

My eldest dd was born 11 weeks early and failed her hearing test when she was about to be discharged 4 weeks before her due date. This was the start of many trips to Guy's over the next 2 years. The first time, the wires kept falling off. The next time, their equipment failed. Then they got some results that suggested she may have some loss where high frequencies are concerned. The next test did not confirm this. The one after she wasn't settled enough. Eventually she was so old they couldn't do the test with the wires any more and they did the behavioural one instead. Not easy with a child that had by then developed selective mutism and could not talk to the consultant. But we got there in the end. To cut a very long story short, she did not appear to have any hearing impairment .

Thanks for sharing Jokat.

Having a repeat abr test Susie is the next step xx