Newborns Might Not be Diagnosed with Hearing Loss

March 24, 2011 - PRLog -- Early diagnosis of hearing loss is very important in newborn children. A study published in the Archives of Otolaryngology has now shown that one third of the children who received a hearing loss screening, showed normal results yet later needed a cochlear implant.

Children who pass the hearing loss screening and are lated diagnosed with hearing loss suffer from delayed onset of hearing health problems which occur in the inner ear or the central processing centers of the brain. The loss of hearing that occurs from this condition cannot be detected immediately after birth.

The study was conducted by the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago; according to the researchers "when universal newborn hearing screening programs were initially conceived, it was presumed that most hearing-impaired children, especially those without risk factors for progressive hearing loss, would fail the objective screening performed during the newborn period." They went on to explain that “since that time, it has been recognized that many causes of childhood hearing loss are associated with progressive loss."

The study talked about how children who were diagnosed as newborns received a cochlear implant a year earlier than those who passed the initial screening. If you believe your child might suffer from hearing damage, visit your local Miami Hearing Center, where an audiologist will be able to conduct a hearing test and give a proper diagnosis.

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