Newborn Hearing Screening

All newborn infants should be tested for permanent hearing loss. That is why St. Luke’s provides an infant hearing screening on all babies born here to identify any hearing loss as early as possible.

Your baby’s hearing will be screened using a quick, painless technique called AABR (automated auditory brainstem response). The testing is conducted in the nursery by specially trained staff, before discharge from the hospital. There is a nominal fee for the test, which is usually covered by insurance. You will be informed of the results immediately following the test. If your baby does not pass the screening test, your physician will be contacted and your baby will be referred for further audiologic (hearing) evaluation. A second test is extremely important in order to assess your baby's hearing.

Reasons that a baby may require further evaluation include: an ear canal blocked with debris, middle ear fluid, or possible permanent hearing loss.

Even if your child passes this initial screening, it’s important to continue to be aware of your child’s responses to sound. For example, some infants with ear infections, other serious infections, chronic illness or family history of hearing impairment can develop hearing loss during the first year of life. If at any time you have concerns about your child’s hearing ability or speech and language development, consult your physician and then arrange to have an audiologist test your child’s hearing.

You may find the following guidelines are helpful as your child grows and his/her speech and hearing develop.

Normal Speech and Language Development

0-3 months
• Startled by loud sounds (handclap at 3-6 feet away)
• Calmed by parent’s voice
• Makes throaty sounds: whimpers, squeals, chuckles

3-6 months
• Turns eyes and head toward sound
• Quiets to parent’s voice
• Babbles, makes a variety of sounds: “ooh,” “ba-ba,” “ga-ga,” “ma”
• Enjoys making sounds
• Enjoys sound-making toys

6-9 months
• Responds to own name
• Understands “no,” “bye-bye”
• Imitates speech and non-speech (cough, tongue clicks, lip smacking) sounds in conversation-like manner
• Plays with sound by repeating sound sequences: “la-la-la”
• Says “da-da” or “ma-ma”

9-12 months
• Turns head toward loud and soft sounds (rattle, whisper, spoon in dish)
• Babbles in response to human voice
• Uses 2-3 words besides “ma-ma” and “da-da”
• Gives toys on request
• Understands “no,” “bye-bye” and other common words

12-13 months
• Identifies body parts, people and toys on request
• Locates sound in all directions
• Indicates wants by naming item
• Uses jargon (sounds like sentences, but few understandable words)
• Uses gestures with speech

18-24 months
• Follows simple commands
• Speaks in 2-word phrases (25% understandable)
• Identifies common household toys and objects
• Recognizes environmental sounds (car, dog, vacuum, doorbell)
• Vocabulary of 20+ words

24-30 months
• Refers to self by name, sings
• Makes less than one half of speech sounds correctly: no longer uses jargon
• Vocabulary of 50+ words used in 2-3 word phrases
• Uses negative (“not go”)
• Answers yes/no questions about familiar events

30-36 months
• Speaks in longer sentences, yet many speech sounds are mispronounced
• Asks questions
• Begins to understand the meaning of “in,” “under” and “over”
• May stutter when excited