Why Your Baby's Hearing Needs to Be Screened?

Parents always pray of having healthy baby who can grow or live normally just like any other happy kids, but destiny sometimes gives the opposite to some couples who wonder why their offsprings turn deaf at an early age. It is currently one major concern in the United States where at least three out of every 1,000 children are born with hearing impairment, and worst is they become totally deaf even before they reach adulthood. This causes them of having different way of learning things such as speech and language and often results to undesirable consequences such as poor social skills and academic performance. And notably, this is the prime reason why the universal newborn screening programs more particulary on early hearing detection have recently been operated in various states. Hence, to ensure that your baby will be having normal hearing at the initial stage and throughout his life, these are the things you have to bear in mind:

When Should Your Baby be Screened?

Screening for the newborn babies is usually done before they leave the birthing center or hospital. And it is essential to wait for the results before going home, but in case there is delay or you forgot it, then it is necessary to ask your doctor about it. If you are told that your baby may have hearing impairment, you have to ask for referral to an audiologist for further examinations and possible medication to avoid complication that may lead to deafness.

Why is it Necessary to Undergo Hearing Examination?

Children learn speech and language in their first three years and recent studies suggest that kids who are diagnosed with and helped to recover from hearing loss early develop better language skills than those who do not. Which is why undergoing hearing examination is very important to know and solve the problem earlier and ensure that your baby can successfully learn communication skills.

How to Recognize Baby's Hearing Loss in Childhood?

Notwithstanding the screening tests administered to newborn babies, it is still possible that others may not develop hearing impairment until reaching childhood. This is one instance that often the parents, guardians, or caregivers can notice. Hence, even if your baby had passed the hearing screening, you should still be watchful of some signs that may manifest the illness.

What are the Alternatives if Your Baby has Hearing Loss?

When you consult an audiologist regarding the hearing loss of your baby, he can advise you of the appropriate medications or devices that can help improve hearing such as hearing aids and cochlear implants. The determination of which is best depends on the degree of your child's hearing impairment, and you have crucial role for the success of the entire process.

Ways to Help Your Child Communicate

There are various ways by which you can personally help your child communicate normally, but it is wise if you consult your doctor first about the best one to take among these common options: (1) Signed English, (2) Auditory-oral and auditory-verbal options, (3) American Sign Language, and (4) Cued Speech.

With the foregoing, it is apparent that having your baby's hearing screened is very important given that it is one effective way to detect the impairment which may ruin his entire life.