Lend an ear

In a recent survey,four out of every 1,000 infants born in India have severe to profound hearing loss.

Written by EXPRESS FEATURES SERVICE

September 24, 2009 04:48 AM IST

4 min read

In a recent survey,four out of every 1,000 infants born in India have severe to profound hearing loss. Almost an equal number of babies would be born with a mild to moderate hearing loss. Infant hearing loss is like a silent epidemic,for there are no physical signs of it. Parents test by clapping close to the baby or calling out the name of a toddler and on seeing their child startle or smile presume that he or she has normal hearing. That is no real indication for the baby may startle because of vibrations or simply body language and lip reading.

There has been an increased interest in screening all newborns for hearing loss all around the world. This interest is motivated,in part,by the significant impact hearing loss can have on speech and language development. The average age when hearing loss is detected in a child is 36 months to 48 months,by when an important time frame for developing speech and language skills has passed. Studies have shown that it is between birth and 36 months that a newborns capacity for communication develops at an explosive rate. This is also referred to as the critical period for speech and language development. So,detecting a hearing problem in the first three months of a newborns life is critical.

Missing an early window of opportunity for determining if there is a problem and correcting it can thwart a childs speech and language development. The impact lasts a lifetime for so much depends on our communication skills. As a result,academic and social skills may be adversely affected. Research has confirmed that treatment has the best results when infant hearing loss is identified and intervention begins before the child reaches six months of age.

Many technological developments now make it possible to identify and quantify hearing loss in newborns. These include otoacoustic emission,OAE and electrophysiological auditory brainstem response ABR tests. OAE in particular is being used as the screening test all over the world as it is much simpler,less difficult to perform and much quicker.The test works on the principle that a normal cochlea produces sound in response to external stimulation; this internally generated sound is the measured response during OAE test. This test can be safely performed even on the first day of the babys life. Therefore,keeping in mind the implications of a hearing loss in a newborn,it is strongly recommended that newborn hearing screening be made mandatory.

Also,remember,that all hearing losses are not the same,so no two people can benefit from the same hearing aid.

Digital hearing aids come with various features which help the hearing health professional to customize hearing aid settings according to the wearers life style and living environment. The most common complaint of a hearing aid user has been that the surrounding noise is disturbing and loud. Special features on hearing aids help reduce this and improve hearing in a noisy area alongside making the noise tolerable. Studies have shown that if proper amplification is not provided to the impaired ear it can result in Auditory deprivation that is the ear will no longer be able to understand speech even with a hearing aid. Thus,purchasing the right hearing aid at the right time should not be viewed as a burdensome expenditure but a valuable investment.

(The author is Senior Audiologist,Speech & Language Pathologist & runs a Hearing & Speech Clinic in Sector 20)

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