A Pass means that your baby hears within the normal speech range. Remember even infants who pass can go on to develop hearing loss. The screening may not identify mild changes in hearing. If you ever have any concerns about your child’s speech, language or hearing tell your doctor right away. Hearing testing can be done at any age and should be done before investigating speech therapy.
A Did Not Pass means your baby needs further screening or testing. It is important that you follow the hospital recommendations and either return for an outpatient rescreen or make an appointment to see the Pediatric Audiologist listed on your Roadmap for Families. Do not let well-meaning relatives or physicians tell you to ‘wait and see what happens’. Early identification is always better. Typically babies are rescreened within two weeks of birth.
If your baby was not screened, click here to get more information about where to get a screen.
There is a reason to make sure you follow the timelines of this roadmap!
Why follow the timelines? These are called the EHDI 1:3:6 timelines. EHDI stands for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention.
- Newborn Screening Before One Month: In Colorado, more than 98% of all babies born in a hospital will receive a newborn hearing screen. We would like to see 100%.
- Diagnostic Hearing Testing Before Three Months: If a baby “refers” or ‘does not pass’ a hearing screen and then the re-screen, they will be referred to an Audiologist for a comprehensive hearing test. About half the babies who fail their screen will pass diagnostic evaluation. Children who have a confirmed hearing loss can then begin the process of early intervention.
- Early Intervention Services Before Six Months: All 50 states offer some form of early intervention services to children birth to three years. When early identification and intervention occurs, children with hearing loss make dramatic progress, are more successful in school and become more productive members of society.
From one parent to another:
An open letter to new parents:
My baby girl never heard me tell her I loved her the first two years of her life. It wasn’t that I didn’t love her, or that I didn’t tell her every day, but rather that she had a hearing loss that went undetected for those two years, and was unable to hear any speech. There was no newborn hearing screening process in the hospital where she was born. While all Colorado hospitals and midwives know about newborn hearing screening now, missed babies and families who don’t follow up still happen.
You may now be home from the hospital with your new baby, up to your eyes in diapers and midnight feedings, and enjoying the new life that has joined your family. If your baby was screened for hearing loss and did not pass, you may want to let it go and wait and see. Please don’t. Go back for the second screening, and if advised, on to a formal assessment with a pediatric audiologist. To have to face even the possibility of something wrong is a very difficult thing to do. But if your baby can’t hear clearly, NOW is the time to find out.
Early intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing can help to build a successful future and ensure that their full potential will be reached. A rich and full life awaits these children, especially when given full access to language and communication right from birth.
Please don’t delay! I know you love your new baby…make sure the message is getting across!
Janet DesGeorges
Proud mom of a now young adult daughter who is hard of hearing
janet@handsandvoices.org (Hands & Voices Headquarters)
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