Less than two days after being born, Sean was already undergoing a test to measure his ability to hear, without ever having to be roused from sleep. I stood witness to this while the female audiologist took Sean’s bassinet upstairs to a normal-looking computer with strange cables hooked up to it. She held onto a little plastic probing tool on the end of one cable and lightly set it into Sean’s right ear, then keyed some information into the computer. The monitor appeared with a complex, multi-colored graphics display. Go to this site for further information on <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=’http://www.nhc.com.au/hearing-test.aspx’>online hearing test</a>. The procedure that Sean was so oblivious to was one that can detect hearing loss at a very early age and help hearing impaired children and their parents learn to face the challenges ahead. In this country alone, 4,000 children are born profoundly deaf while another 24,000 are born with some loss of hearing. The chance for parents to help their children through life with little to no disability has been given to them by the OAE, also known as otoacoustic emissions test, which will let pediatricians and families know soon after birth whether the baby has a hearing problem or not. Before the OAE test, potential hearing impairment in children often went undetected until the age of 2 or 3. The consequences of not knowing that the child is suffering from hearing loss can be very drastic. Language and speech delays should be expected. Because they do not receive the auditory input and stimulation that other fully hearing children get from their families and surroundings, these children won’t speak any real words until they are much older. The first 2 years of life is the most crucial phase of any child’s development, as far as emotional and intellectual progression is concerned. Unfortunately, some children who suffer from hearing loss are accidentally diagnosed as having a mental deficiency. Conducting hearing testing on every infant born was a complicated process prior to the development of OAE in 1990, and it was also very expensive. Audiologists now can use a an auditory brain stem response test, which is extremely accurate. The test is conducted by measuring brain activity of the auditory nerve through the use of electrodes attached to the infant. The test must be administered by a professional audiologist or physician due to its complexity, and is costly at about $90 per half hour exam. There aren’t enough physicians and audiologists in the world to give the test to every newborn. This site teaches you about <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=’http://www.nhc.com.au/hearing-test.aspx’>hearing clinics</a>. The great advantages of using OAE are the cost, which is relatively low, and the simplicity, so you don’t need a professional audiologist to run the test. Hearing is tested by measuring the motion of hair cells located in the cochlea when they are struck by sound waves, a short and easy five-minute process. A transmitter is placed into the baby’s inner ear, and the microphone is sensitive to the hair cell’s vibratory responses. The test was then repeated on the other ear. Baby Sean was lucky enough to be born with nearly perfect hearing. When the first test is not passed, another test is scheduled for the following week. This is because there can be fluid trapped in the canal of the ear shortly after birth which can give inaccurate results. If the second test indicates the same results, then an auditory brain stem response test is done to find the exact cause. The potential solutions are discussed by the doctor, the family, and the audiologist. If the hearing loss is minor, a hearing aid can be fitted as early as 3 months of age. In these cases a hearing aid may be the only thing needed to correct the issue. By a year-and-a-half, the child can receive a cochlear implant, which is a surgical procedure which can help to correct hearing deficiencies for their entire life. If the hearing loss is profound and cannot be corrected, then the parents are taught to use visual clues and examples to help the child learn about the environment. This type of rigorous attention has been shown to help the babies develop at a normal intellectual rate in most cases. There are many different approaches and options available for parents that need to learn how to deal with their child’s hearing loss such as American Sign Language (ASL) as well as learning how to lip read.
2000-2003: Professor of Quaternary geology at Earth Sciences Centre, G.