Tests to detect deafness in babies

Early detection of childhood deafness is fundamental to timely treatment and to avoid problems or language alterations in children. Advances in the field of science and technology have successfully launched two tests, which can be performed to the newborn, before even leaving the maternity where he

Early detection of childhood deafness is fundamental to timely treatment and to avoid problems or language alterations in children. Advances in the field of science and technology have successfully launched two tests, which can be performed to the newborn, before even leaving the maternity where he was born.

The tests to detect deafness in babies or hearing loss in children represent a great advance, because until recently the detection of hearing problems was made at the age of 2 years, when the child could issue a response to various auditory stimuli. Thanks to the response or lack of response, the evaluations were made.

Tests to detect childhood hearing loss

Currently, the Spanish Association of Primary Care Pediatrics (AEPap) highlights the importance of performing a neonatal screening test for the early detection of congenital hearing loss to all newborns.

To detect infantile hearing loss in babies, there are two types of tests: otoacoustic emissions and auditory evoked potentials of the brainstem.

1. Otoacoustic emissions. They are made by placing a small adapter in the baby's ear canal, which emits sounds and collects the responses that are generated in an area of ​​the inner ear called the cochlea.

2. The evoked auditory potentials. To perform this test, sensors are placed on the scalp of the newborn, which collect the electrical activity generated in the ear and brain in response to sound stimuli that are emitted from headphones.

Both tests do not cause any discomfort in the newborn. It is advisable to perform these tests while the baby is calm or sleeping and it is usual to do the test between 12 and 48 hours of life, before leaving the maternity. In any case, it must be done in the first month of life. With the early detection in newborns, the diagnosis of hearing loss can be reached before 6 months, a very important advance, since deafness is usually detected at 2 years of age in children who are not treated birth tests.

Hearing problems from birth

Most permanent infant deafness is already present at birth, but sometimes it becomes apparent later, which means that passing the test at birth does not guarantee that the child will not develop Deafness later. If the child passes the test, it means that the hearing is normal at that time. Parents should be alert in case there is any sign that the child does not hear well, especially in his first three years of life. Newborns who do not pass the test are controlled by specialists in otorhinolaryngology, who are those who will confirm or rule out possible deafness in the baby.

Approximately 5 out of every 1,000 children are born with some type of deafness. In 1 of every 1,000, deafness is profound. In Spain, the Commission for the Early Detection of Hearing Loss recommends, since 1999, to make the hearing screening test to all newborn children. The Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs and the Autonomous Communities approved in 2003 the program for the early detection of deafness, for its implementation at the state level.

With this program, treatment for hearing loss is facilitated early. It must be borne in mind that if deafness is not treated early, it prevents the acquisition of language and hinders the emotional and intellectual development of the child. The identification and early treatment of children with these problems facilitate language development. This improves their learning and their communication.

Marisol Nuevo. Copywriter