Dr. Ashwini Kumar Shetty

 In developed countries like US it is mandatory to check hearing of each and every newborn within 48 hours of birth. But currently there are no mandatory rules or regulations for Newborn Hearing Screening in India and hence the identification of hearing loss is mostly at later ages.

Conclusion:

• OAE screening is proved to be reliable method of screening. If hearing screening is made mandatory for the newborns at the time of birth or within the first month of life many more cases of hearing & speech impairment could be avoided.
• Hearing impairment must be corrected before the child reaches six months of age. Late intervention of the hearing loss will yield very poor results as the plasticity of the brain reduces drastically as the child grows older. Undetected hearing loss is big obstacle to educational achievement and socialization.
• Mother’s instinct should never be ignored and probable hearing loss in the child should be subjected to audio logical assessment.  It should not be ignored with “It shall improve in the next few years” or ‘child did not hear because he was busy playing or watching television’.