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New hearing screener key to catching hearing loss in infantsIn early 2008, the nursery at the New Ulm Medical Center received $4,500 from the NUMC Foundation for a small, but important new piece of equipment: a hearing screener. Every single baby born on the OB unit (approximately 350 to 380 each year) receives a hearing screening prior to discharge from the unit. The previous hearing screener was becoming outdated, explained OB Nurse Manager Jennifer Brehmer, RN, necessitating the need for an updated unit. “There is a strong initiative by the State of Minnesota to catch hearing loss early,” Brehmer said. In fact newborn hearing screening became mandatory in Minnesota in the spring of 2007. “They see it as an important priority and so do we. There is so much developmentally that hinges on a newborn being able to hear properly.” The most important time for a child to learn a language is from birth through age three. Newborns with normal hearing begin to learn speech and language in the first six months of their lives to help them learn how to talk. Research shows that babies with hearing loss who are identified early (before 6 months of age) are still able to develop language skills on schedule. According to the National Institutes of Health, about 2 or 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a hearing problem. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reports that four babies a week in Minnesota are born with some type of hearing loss. The screener consists of a simple small ear bud that is held in the baby’s ear. The ear is stimulated with sound and the “echo” is measured. An echo is found in babies who have normal hearing. If there is no echo, there could be hearing loss. Babies will often sleep through the test. The screener is attached to a digital reader that then tells the nurse if the baby passes or fails the screening. If hearing loss is suspected, the baby will be screened again at a follow-up appointment or referred to an audiologist. |
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New Ulm Medical Center
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