Baby Hearing Tests

When newborns are born, screening tests are performed to check the baby’s health. One of the routine tests are hearing tests. It is a routine test because 2 to three in 1,000 newborns are born with hearing loss making it the most common birth defect. Most hearing specialists recommend that newborns get screened. If they’re found with hearing loss, then newborns are referred to receive hearing aids and speech therapy services. There are two types of newborn hearing tests. One is called the automated auditory brainstem response in which a sensor is placed on a baby’s scalp. The sensors measure brainwave activity that responds to sounds which are transmitted through small headphones. A second test is called the otoacoustic emissions which measures sound waves through the inner ear. A little device is placed in the ear that makes soft noises and a computer connected to the device records the ear’s response. Early detection is key to social development.