Audiologist recommends early OAE screening for your baby

POLOKWANE – For many months you plan for the arrival of your new baby.

You have plans and dreams, and along with those plans and dreams comes worries and fear. Will the baby be healthy? According to Candice McConney, an audiologist at The Ear Institute Polokwane, hearing loss is the most common birth defect in newborns. She tells Polokwaen Observer that hearing loss is easily missed during the early months of a baby’s life.

“Often hearing-impaired children go undetected until they are between two and four years old. When a baby is not exposed to sounds and voices, language and learning can be significantly delayed. As a result, these children are more likely to face social, emotional and professional challenges throughout their lives.”

The earlier hearing loss is detected and identified, the better a child’s chances are for normal speech and language development. An Otoacoustic Emission (OAE) measurement is conducted in a hospital or the comfort of an audiologist’s practice. An OAE measures whether parts of the inner ear or cochlea respond properly to sound.

“During the measurement, a probe containing both speakers and a microphone is inserted into the ear of the baby. The transmitter sends sounds into the inner ear and the microphone picks up the responding vibrations. In low-level environments, with a cooperative baby, the OAE measurements take just a few minutes to complete.”

McConney recommends that each newborn’s hearing be screened to identify a possible hearing loss as soon as possible.