May is Speech and Hearing Month

It’s never too early to have your child’s hearing tested!

Hearing plays an important role in a child’s speech, language and social development. Babies start learning to use sounds as soon as they are born, so it is important to identify a hearing loss as soon as possible.

Can hearing loss be present at birth?

Yes. In BC, 1 out of every 300 babies is born with a hearing loss.

Is it possible to test a baby’s hearing?

Yes. Hearing can be tested at any age. As part of a province-wide program for early hearing screening and intervention, the BC Early Hearing Program (BCEHP) provides gentle and non-invasive hearing screenings on a baby shortly after birth to identify hearing status. BCEHP is being rolled out in targeted areas in the Northern Health Authority.

How do you test a baby’s hearing?

Soft sounds are presented to the baby’s ears, and the hearing screening equipment measures the response from the baby

Who performs the hearing screenings?

A BCEHP trained hearing screener performs the test.

For more information on the BC Early Hearing Program, please visit their website www.phsa.ca/earlyhearing.

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s hearing, contact your local hearing clinic, or talk to your family physician or public health nurse for a referral to the nearest audiologist.

Kathy Pereira

Senior Audiologist

Northern Health