By RON TAYLOR
Newborn babies in the intensive-care nursery at National Women's Hospital in Auckland will be screened for hearing defects with a quick, new test.
About half of children with hearing loss start life in intensive care. Premature babies are much more likely to have hearing defects.
The deafness may not be
diagnosed until they are 3 or 4, or start school.
Dr Ellen McNeil, clinical director of the Audiology Centre and of Auckland Healthcare audiology services, says finding a hearing defect later is "too much lost time."
"Poor hearing impairs children's speech and language skills and can cause behavioural problems.
"They sometimes get classed as slow learners or backward as a result, when in fact they're as bright as any other children.
"It's tragic, but increasingly it's something we can detect very early."
The testing will be done under a programme devised by the hospital, the National Audiology Centre and Auckland Medical School. It is hoped to start in February using the specialist equipment.
The enhanced ability to test newborns follows a revolution in infant screening called Oto Acoustic Emissions (OAE).
While the technique has been under evaluation for a few years, advances in equipment mean it has only now become practicable for screening, says Dr McNeil.
A little sound is played into the ear canal and is interpreted by the cochlea, the spiral organ of the labyrinth of the ear that receives and analyses sound.
The cochlea feeds back a sound in response, allowing the baby's hearing to be assessed.
The test can be done in a couple of minutes.
Where there has been a complication such as lack of oxygen during birth, or the baby is very premature, a 90-minute test known as ABR (Auditory Brainstem-evoked Response) will be used.
The experience with the Rotary-backed programme, and keeping track of the children diagnosed, will be shared with other hospitals that may want to introduce the screening.
