Neonatal Screening Program

When a baby is born, the first thing to be checked is if everything is complete, like fingers, hands, feet, etc.

Other reflexes such as blinking of the eyes are also being checked.

What is still commonly ignored is the newborns' hearing. The reason might be that hearing is an inconspicuous sense and it cannot be seen right away if a hearing loss is present or not.

However, not detecting a newborn's hearing loss may have a great impact on its language and speech development, communication and social skills as well as academic. This would have an effect on the chance to secure a job late in life.

In order to detect the presence of a hearing loss in a baby, screening tests are applied. These tests have a short duration and do not require medication. It is also able to give immediatand information about the baby's hearing status. Screening tests can be done from the third day after birth. The result will be a "Pass" (hearing is okay) or a "Refer" (hearing loss may be present).

The most commonly applied kind of test for Neonatal Hearing Screening Program is Otoacoustic Emmissions (OAE).