New hope for infants with congenital hearing loss -
Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand, 5th Annual Congress, Canberra
Infants diagnosed with congenital hearing loss who start treatment within the first six months of life have much better language development than those diagnosed later.
But a study by audiologists at Sydney's Liverpool Hospital, Kirsty Gardner-Berry and Debbie Andrews, has found the majority of children in Australia with congenital hearing loss are not detected until 2-3 years of age and less than 7% are diagnosed before the age of six months.
The study is being presented at the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) 5th Annual Congress in Canberra this week.
"The delay in language that results from this late diagnosis often leads to lower academic achievement, poor self-esteem, and reduced job opportunities," Ms Gardner-Berry said.
"Hospital based neonatal hearing screening programs are a good way to combat this and are now being established in Australia. By screening all high risk infants we expect that around 40% of all childhood hearing loss will be detected," she said.
Liverpool Hospital is among hospitals at the forefront of establishing new hearing screening programs.
Any infant admitted to the neonatal nursery for more than 48 hours is screened. Those who fail the test are referred for a full evaluation.
A further paper being presented at this week's PSANZ Congress by doctors from the Institute for Child Health Research and the King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women in Perth also underlines the benefits of the new screening strategies.
According to the chief author of the study, WA epidemiologist Helen Bailey, nearly 7,500 babies were tested in the first 10 months of a program run at five hospitals in the Perth metropolitan area.
"Of these 94% passed hearing screening in both ears in the first five months, rising to 98% in the next five months," Ms Bailey said.
The Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand is an organisation of healthcare professionals dedicated to the care of mother and baby during pregnancy, birth and early childhood.