Hearing Test for newborns

[Hulababy]

\link{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4808416.stm\Hearing Test for newborns}

This has been piloted for a while but looks like it will go nationwide now.

DD has this test at a day old, nearly 4 years ago. I hadn't realised it was only a pilot and not standard at the time.

Would be lovely to think it can help to identify more children with hearing difficulties early, and thus meaning they will have greater opportunities earlier on to help them with this.

all mine have had this, my first two under a pilot scheme,a nd my twins due to my deafness.
I nver really understood it though - if they find out baby is deaf, what would they do at such a young age?

Standard at the hospital where dd2 was born 12 days ago--in NYC. I think that knowing about possible hearing difficulties ASAP would be of great benefit.

My parents did not know that my brother was hard of hearing until he was in year 1. They truly believed that he was ignoring them when they spoke. It turns out that he was a great lip-reader and could only do what was asked of him if he could see the person speaking.

Kelly, you ask what can you do at such a young age. One possibilitty is wearing hearing aids or having an evaluation for a cochlear implant. The other (or at the same time) is introducing signing.

Would they give hearing aids to a baby that young?

Ah yes, we didn't get this with dd1, but dd2 had it about 5 hrs after delivery last week! far better than that old rubbish get em to play with something and then try and get em to listen test....

They can give hearing aids to babies that young. Some might start with the older-fashioned box but others start straight away with behind-the-ears aids. Plus the newborn test is only a screening test. It needs to be followed by a diagnostic test, making earmoulds etc, so a few more weeks will pass, the baby gets older.

that's really interesting, wish that had been around when I was a baby! My deafness wasn't noticed until preschool.

my health visitor told me about this when I had my last baby he is 17 months!

i started wearing hearing aids when i was 2 (the box ones as not behind the ear ones as they werent powerful enough for me at the time) but i kept on taking them off or breaking then box hearing aid till i got used to it

I had the behind the ear ones. They used to take my glasses, saw the ends off and put a loop on it that the hearing aid would thread through. I couldn't manage without the glasses so I was stuck with them! I looked a right state, nhs specs and those massive hearing aids that they used to do!
I had one of the box ones for lectures at uni, and they are so much better. A lot clearer.