One of Hearts for Hearing’s highly trained experts will place three small electrodes (stickers) on your baby. These electrodes are sensors connected to a special computer. An earpiece is placed over each of your baby’s ears and the computer sends soft sounds – like a whisper – into each ear. When the whisper-like sounds are played in baby’s ears, the sensors measure the baby’s hearing pathway responses and whether the baby is detecting the gentle sounds. The procedure is known as an Automated Brainstem Response, or ABR. Based on baby’s response to the ABR, caregivers will receive a certificate of “Pass” or “Refer/Fail for Additional Testing”.
What happens if a baby fails the screen and requires additional testing?
If a baby fails the newborn hearing screen and requires additional testing in one or both ears, a rescreen will be scheduled. If a baby continues to fail the screen, a follow-up appointment with a pediatric audiologist to confirm or rule out whether the baby has hearing loss will be scheduled. Some hearing loss may be temporary however, other types may be permanent. It is critical for the baby’s development that follow-up testing and appointments occur. It is important to remember that 90% of all children with hearing loss are born to parents with normal hearing.
If you had a homebirth and would like to have your newborn’s hearing screened at Hearts for Hearing, please call us at 405.548.4300 to schedule an appointment.
