Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Essay

Universal Newborn Hearing Screenings Over 50 years ago, audiologists, educators, parents, and medical personnel recognized and stressed the importance of early identification of hearing loss among infants. The understanding for a need for early identification of a child’s hearing loss has led us to the modern technology and assessment of hearing for newborns, most commonly referred to as the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS). In the United States, as of 2007, over 90% of newborns are being screened. UNHS uses Automatic Auditory Brainstem Response (AABR) and Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) to “detect permanent or fluctuating, bilateral or unilateral, and sensory or conductive hearing loss that averages 30 to 40 dB or greater in the frequency range critical for speech recognition” (Scheetz, 129). If a newborn does not pass the screening, s/he is referred to have another assessment within 3 months to confirm a hearing loss, and what kind of hearing loss; however, according to “Measures of Follow-Up in Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs: A Need for Standardization”, many children do not go to their second screening:
In 2004, fewer than half (48%) of infants referred for diagnostic evaluation across the country were documented by …show more content…
Many comparisons of newborns identified early with a hearing loss to those who are identified later prove the importance of early identification. Early identification of hearing loss is crucial for the child’s access to language while the child’s brain has plasticity and language foundations, access to early intervention programs and assessment in the way a child is to be educated, and parental modes of communication with their child. If we identify a child with a hearing loss early, the child’s probability of acquiring language naturally with no language delays is significantly higher than the probability one that is identified 6 months or