Newborn hearing screen - Page 2

[tessie]

Originally Posted by MamaofLiam 

After reading this thread DH and I decided to have our 13 month old DS have his hearing tested. (fyi - He did not have a newborn screening as I had a home birth and we just didn't do it then.) We just had the appt this morning. The test for us was not quick and easy - not sure why we're having a different experience than others, but that's how it was for us. The whole thing was a battery of tests (like 4 different ones) and took about 45 minutes. Because they were sticking things in his ears, which he was not happy about, he cried a lot, lost it and would not cooperate. Hence we need to go back next week. Which we are going to do. From what they could tell, his hearing within normal ranges is fine. But beyond that it was too much for him and any further testing would have been inconclusive. I should also add that we needed a prescription from our doctor to do this as the appointment was with an audiologist who specializes in this kind of thing. 

So all this to say i'm not sure why our experience was so different from everyone else here - maybe b/c he's older? though the audiologist said not necessarily as newborns can be just as difficult. maybe this is a more extensive test? I really don't know. 

Gosh, that sounds like a good reason to do it when they're a newborn.

The newborn screen is just a probe placed in each ear in turn for a few seconds. It's done and dusted in a couple of minutes, can be done while they are sleeping or nursing, and they give you the results straight away.

[MamaofLiam]

Originally Posted by Llyra 

Originally Posted by MamaofLiam 

So all this to say i'm not sure why our experience was so different from everyone else here - maybe b/c he's older? though the audiologist said not necessarily as newborns can be just as difficult. maybe this is a more extensive test? I really don't know. 

When my kids had it done, as newborns, I was asked to nurse them into a deep sleep. Then they did it, and the whole thing only took a few minutes. Could it be, perhaps, that they did a more thorough screen than they would have during the routine newborn check? My DD1 had a detailed repeat hearing exam by an audiologist, when she was nine months old, and it was long and involved. (We had it because she wasn't reaching normal milestones for things like babbling.) I think the newborn screen is simpler.

I think that could be it and that you're right. B/c the tests my DS had this morning were pretty involved and not what I would call simple. One of the tests had him in a sound proof room with speakers on all sides with different sounds coming out of different speakers at different times. The idea there being that he would turn his head toward the sound he heard. The whole thing just freaked him out. If I had it to do over again, and the newborn test is really simple, I would do the newborn screening instead of this. 

[Llyra]

What you're describing, with the room and the speakers, is what they did with my nine-month-old, too. They wanted to do it that way, because to do something like the newborn screen would mean she'd have to be deeply asleep, which for a baby that age might mean chloral hydrate, and they didn't want to do that if they didn't have a clear and indisputable medical reason, which of course we didn't have. I agreed.

I guess maybe the advantage of the newborn screen is how deeply newborns can sleep, in those first few days, so that the screen can be done with the ear probes, and can be over in a few seconds.

[madcap150]

There are definitely different screens and I believe older kids are going to get more extensive ones. Sharing our experience in case anyone else has a similar experience: after DS was born, it took us a while to figure out where to get the screen done because the hospital our birth center refers to is out of our insurance network. We were willing to pay out of pocket for the birth, but not the hearing screen! So we had a lot of legwork to do to find out how to schedule the screen at somewhere that was covered for us.

The first place we got in touch with was a children's hospital. We scheduled an appointment and then they called with all the info: no eating before the test, test will last 4 hours. . . it didn't sound right! We cancelled and found another place to schedule, and realized afterwards that the children's hospital didn't actually do the basic screens and was automatically scheduling us for the more extensive tests. We ended up going to a hospital that does a lot of births and the test was, as others have mentioned, quick and painless. The nurse doing the test was a bit startled to see a 12-pound 5-week-old instead of the newborns she usually sees, though!

So we learned that if it sounds like the test is too complicated, you're probably right-- the newborn screen should be super quick and easy. This time we know where to go and will just take this new baby back to the same hospital after he is born. I'm thinking we'll probably take him at 2 - 3 weeks old if I feel ready to get out and about then.

[excitedtobeamom]

My daughter has a hearing loss and the tests are harder between 1 month and 2 years unless your child likes random people putting weird things in their ears.  The newborn test is a breeze compared to the ones as the get older.  She is now 7.5 and is an old pro!  I would say get it done as a newborn.

[CookAMH]

I had a homebirth 4 weeks ago and I keep forgetting to schedule it, but I plan to get her tested in the next week. Pedi advised to get it within the first month, midwife said within three months.

[fairejour]

A child can startle to noise and respond but still have a significant hearing loss. Hearing loss is NOT all or nothing! Please ladies, get your child tested. There is absolutely no reason not to. It takes 10 minutes but can be the difference between language and no language, literacy and illiteracy, communication and isolation for your child, and not just in childhood, FOR LIFE. Kids who are id'ed, enrolled in early intervention and fitted with appropriate technology do great, but without newborn screens the average age of identification is 50 months!!!!!!!!!