Help - 2 week old and failed hearing tests

[madamechocolat]

My two week old niece has just failed her second hearing test - the feedback was no hearing in one ear and some in the other. She has now been referred to a specialist. Can anyone tell me how reliable these tests are and whether fluid in the ear/infection can give a nil reading. My sister is panicking (naturally) and I wondered what other people's experience had been.
Thank you

Jess failed hers at 2 weeks old, but passed at 4 weeks, after having sticky things on her head and doing it that way.

Rebecca failed her first one in hospital at a day old, but passed at 2 weeks old at the clinic.

HTH

my DS failed his and I panicked... passed 2nd time.

My baby didn't react to any noise at all when he was 10 days old. We could stand behind him and bang a cymbal and there would be no reaction whatsoever. Everyone said he was used to noise of the house being the 3rd child but I just knew there was something wrong. We had to go 40 miles to a hospital who would test him and he passed the hearing test. He still wasn't reacting to noise though. He was having some cranio osteopath treatment for something else and the result was his little body had shut down and that is why he couldn't hear. He was in shock due to a stressful delivery and the loss of his twin and not being able to hear was a result of this. He is now 15 months and there is no doubt he can hear!!!

Man, these hearing tests add so much stress at a really vulnerable time.
My 2 both failed theirs initially. In fact, DS failed his twice. I was doing my nut. He got referred on to someone who did the sticky-pad thing and they got a good response immediately.
The person operating the kit said it was so common for the initial test to come up negative. Colds, fluid in ear after delivery... almost everything seemed to have an effect.
HTH.

My DS failed her first 3 hearing tests because of fluid in her ears. I had to take her to audiology and they put pads on her head and did the tests again and she passed with flying colours.

I hope your neice is OK

I will pass all this on and we'll wait for the next set of tests. Just feel sorry for my poor sister, first baby and already so much pressure. Baby is simply gorgeous by the way not that I'm a proud, biased Auntie or anything...

DD2 failed her hearing test twice.

The first time was because of the wall clock ticking, I took the batteries out, but she still failed because of the noise from the garage across the road.

Second time was because she had a cold.

Passed 3rd time.

my dd2 failed her first one and the 2nd in one ear.i wasnt really bothered tbh as she could clearly hear perfectly well,she just had a cold at the time.
she had a hearing test at the hospital at 8 months which was inconclusive and has to go for another one later this month!i know she can hear fine though and im glad shes not my 1st baby else i'dve been worried sick.

pfft...ds failed his distraction test at a few weeks old (can't remember )spectacularly (the one where the HV waves rattles behind the child's back etc) and I had fairly well-stifled anxiety about it for ages (and posted on MN!). The notes said something like "marked failure to respond to all sounds". He had a cold at the time.
Missed the next one due to having another cold so ended up being referred to audiology where they played all sorts of tones to him and he heard the lot!

hi madamechocolat, Im a newborn hearing screener, yes the machine might not be able to pick up responses from baby's ear/s if there is still birth fluid/debris inside noise can also be a factor be it from the baby himself or outside noise.

in my area we will do one screen with one type of machine thenif we dont get a response we will do an aabr which involves the sensors and sticky ear muffs, if baby still give no responses we will refer to audiology but this still doesnt mean there is a hearingloss.

the reason this programme has beenintroduced is to find those 2 in per 1000 babies that do have a hearing loss because research has shown ifthey are dianosed and given support eary then their language and communication development by age 1 is on par with their peers who have no hearing loss.
hth

here is the national website if anyone want more info hearing

I know false positive hearing tests can lead to a lot of anxiety, esp in first time parents, but as the mum of a profoundly deaf child i wanted to second me23 and their importance in picking up truly deaf babies for whom early intervention can make the difference between poor or good outcomes.

Me23 and Christina - thankyou for your messages. My niece has just had the sticky pad tests and again it showed a fail in one ear. She has been referred to audiolology and we are waiting for the next stage. My sister has been brilliant,and having got over the initial shock and panic is now calmly waiting her appointment. Her dd is in a supportive, strong family and whatever the outcome, with or without hearing loss, she's perfect!

The very strange irony is that I started a sign language course just a few weeks ago... life has some funny twists

when dd3 was two weeks she failed hers

I foound the whole thing so distressing I didn't give consent for any more tests

she is now 5 months and seems to hear fine

Sorry but I think these tests cause more upset and worry than they are worth

"Sorry but I think these tests cause more upset and worry than they are worth" Enid, they are not worth it to you because you were distressed for a few months even though your DD is fine in the end, but it may be worth it to those babies who would be picked up and for whom this would make a WORLD of difference. It's not just not being picked up at 2 weeks, some don't get picked up till 2 years or later. Screening tests are introduced after careful consideration and this one is very timely, i think.

Madamechocolat - I hope your niece passes her tests eventually. Good on you for learning BSL, but don't forget there are other options out there for deaf children nowadays, strong hearing aids, cochlear implants, coupled with auditory-verbal therapy etc. Good luck, keep us posted.

madame chocolat, I'm glad your sister seems more relaxed now, hopefully things have been explained more in depth, again just because the baby is been referred to audiology doesnt automatically mean there is a hearing problem.
the baby has hearing in one ear so that is promising.

cristina, I agree totally with your post below, you are an example of why theses test are worth it! they were designed to pick up the 2per 1000 babies who do have a hearing loss, and intervene early so the baby has the best start.
so I agree it's totally worth a bit of stress.

I also have a deaf child (not profound) who is managing brilliantly on digital hearing aids and radio mic system. In mainstream education and very happy and sucessful.

The newborn test was not available to us and we didnt get a diagnosis until age four. It would have been brilliant to have had proper support before that. It is truly a good thing for your family that it has been spotted this early.

Good luck to your sister and her daughter

personally I think the test at 7 months was the way to go

more reliable IMO

"personally I think the test at 7 months was the way to go

more reliable IMO"

I don't think it's more reliable. My son who is profoundly deaf passed his 8 month test. In fact, the HVs said he was the most alert baby they'd seen all morning. He turned but not to sounds, to other clues (shadows, perfume, I don't know what), I suppose because he was used to looking for other clues by then. The OAE test done for screening just looks to see if a sound is picked up by the brain, no child/operator involvement needed.

It's easier perhaps for parents of two or more children to pick up if their youngest has a hearing problem, but it can be quite difficult for a first time parent. You just adapt to your child, you know he's perfect and you don't go out of your way looking for things that might be wrong. Now I have a hearing child as well I look back and think how could I have missed it, but I did.

You can always opt out of any screening, but I think it's a good thing that there's a more reliable method out there nowadays.

the whole point of doing the screen when they are newborn is to identify babies early because precious timewill be lost if theY ARE screened at months.
here is thenewborn hearing screening programmes mission statement.

Mission Statement
The Newborn Hearing Screen is harmless, is more accurate than the Infant Distraction Test, and can be used with newborn babies.

If babies are identified with a hearing loss very early in their life, precious time is gained to help them and their family develop communication skills.

With this in mind, our Mission Statement is to:

Enable high quality parent - child interaction for all newborn children through early identification of children at risk of poor interactions attributable to unidentified hearing problems

Empower parents of hearing impaired children so they can make informed choices about early communication and support options to facilitate high quality parent - child interactions in the first few months of life

Establish an evaluative culture of NHS service provision and partnership, for children 0-36 months of age, through training and Quality Assurance in:

• Hearing Screening and Assessment
• Diagnosis and Medical Management of hearing impaired / deaf children
• Habilitation for these children that includes Paediatric Audiology, Early Support options, communication options, Education, Social and family care support