General awareness of hearing difficulties
The new born hearing screening programme was introduced in England in 2001 and involves the screening of all babies for hearing loss following birth, either in the hospital they were born in or in the community, by their health visitor. It is hoped that this will result in the early diagnosis of any hearing difficulties so that appropriate intervention can be put in place.
The screening test has a ‘pass’ or ‘refer’ result. If a ‘refer’ is indicated the child will be referred on to an audiology department for further testing. The testing at audiology may result in the diagnosis of a hearing loss or the child will be discharged or monitored.
Between 21 months to 2 years of age parents are given a questionnaire by their health visitor which asks a series of questions relating to their child’s hearing and the development of their communication skills. This is then returned to the health visitor and any concerns can be discussed at the 21 month to 2 year check.
At five years of age all pupils should have a hearing test in school from the school nurse. If the child’s test results are not within normal limits then the child will again referred to audiology, sometimes via the GP.
Despite these various hearing tests at different ages a number of children will be missed for a variety of reasons. This might include
- Missed appointments
- Moving areas or new to UK
- Parental refusal for the tests
- The family may be refugees and there may be limited if any medical information.
It is also important to remember that 10% of children with a hearing impairment acquire this after birth and this can be through either illness, accident or a late onset genetic condition.
Many children also experience intermittent hearing loss due to “glue ear” before adolescence, and whilst they are growing. This can mean that a number of children will have their hearing difficulties missed or misunderstood. Some of their other learning needs may be masking a hearing loss.
Ongoing general screening is therefore important, especially in the primary school phase.
